Just like Sergio Barajas, another young Mexican prospect got to shine at Lux Fight League 60 this past weekend. A few fights before Barajas was able to grab a very close split decision win in the co-main event, Silvestre “Gorilla” Sanchez scored the finish of the night via a brutal round-one knockout.
The 24-year-old typically fights out of the southpaw stance, but Sanchez can strike well in orthodox as well. He really showed that with this weekend’s knockout, as he was able to stay in the pocket in orthodox after throwing a leg kick, which allowed him to come over top with the right hand for a one-punch KO.
Sanchez is pretty good offensively wherever the fight may take him, but his main discipline is Muay Thai. His first two fights as an amateur were in Muay Thai before he made the full-time switch over to MMA. On the feet, Sanchez is a very calm and collected lefty that will occasionally switch to throw power shots with his right hand.
For the majority of the time when he is in southpaw, his best weapon is his lead hand. Sanchez uses it in a few different ways that are all very effective. When he deploys it as a jab to set up other punches or a check hook as an opponent closes the distance, it is very dangerous, but my favorite is when Sanchez throws his lead hand as an uppercut. He is sneaky fast with it, and combined with his natural power, it can be a big problem for opponents.
As a Muay Thai fighter, Sanchez does use all his weapons well. He doesn’t find himself in the clinch offensively all that often, but his knees and elbows are great when he does use them. Sanchez’s kicking arsenal backs up the big power in his hands, as he uses his front leg to teep and leg kick, while he whips hard body kicks with his back leg. It has proven to be a very good mix of kicks as a southpaw mostly fighting righties.
Defensively on the feet, it is two different stories depending on where the fight is taking place. At range, his calmness allows him to easily step back into a different stance or bounce out of range to avoid big punches. This opens up a lot of counter opportunities for Sanchez to take advantage of. However, at times when he does decide to open up or bite down in the pocket to exchange, Sanchez will plant his feet, and that is when he gets caught. It hasn’t been a problem for him yet, but if he can continue to get better at head movement in the pocket, it will be a big positive going forward.
Just like his striking defense, Sanchez’s grappling abilities all come down to where the fight is taking place. Offensively, Sanchez has an all right takedown game and is very good in top position. When he is in the dominant position, Sanchez is always attacking with ground and pound, looking for a TKO or trying to open up a submission. Sanchez has quite a few submissions on his record, but most of them came from hurting his opponent on the feet and then finding a rear-naked choke.
On the defensive side, his first layer of takedown defense is good, and he scrambles quite well, but Sanchez can struggle to get up off his back. When defending the initial shot, he has quick reactions and is very strong, so his opponents usually have trouble getting him down. He has great instincts in scrambles as well, but the best grappler he has fought to date was able to put him on his back and keep him there for a majority of the fight.
My last criticism comes from that same fight where he was held down for most of the first two rounds. Sanchez’s opponent, Luke Roberts, did well in the early rounds with the grappling, but he was clearly tired in the third. While I do have to acknowledge that Sanchez was very likely tired too, the calm and collected approach I praised earlier went too far. He was definitely down 2–0 going into round three, and with Roberts tired, I would’ve loved to see Sanchez really go for the finish. He continued on with his usual fighting style until the very end of the round, but it was too late at that point.
At just 24 years old, the well-rounded skillset and devastating power of Silvestre Sanchez make him a very exciting prospect. With continued growth and, hopefully, a Lux Fight League title down the road, Sanchez is definitely another Mexican fighter to keep your eye on.
