In a recent interview Diego Sanchez said he feels that this has been the most disrespectful that his fans and MMA community has addressed him in his career.
The first ever Ultimate Fighter winner and his new coach became a target of ridicule after his Michel Pereira bout in the co-main event of UFC Rio Rancho. Sanchez was hit with an illegal knee in the 3rd round and told the referee that cannot continue the fight. He was then awarded the win via disqualification.
His coach, Joshua Fabia became a hot topic of discussion after the instructions he gave Sanchez in-between rounds, and due to the fact that he has no martial arts experience. After the fight, Fabia had even come out and said that Diego Sanchez’s defence was ‘Mayweather level’ in the Pereira fight. Many MMA fans and media expressed their thoughts, saying that Fabia should not be coaching a professional fighter.
However, Sanchez himself is standing by his new self-awareness guru and MMA coach.
“Joshua is my brother, my mentor, my guide, my manager, my trainer,” he told MMA Junkie. “This has been the most disrespectful that my fans and the masses of the MMA community have addressed me in my career — just throwing all the hits and all the traumas that I took in the 16 years in the UFC. All this trauma that I took, I paid the price for the experience to make my own decisions in what is best for me going forward.
“I have always been different than everybody else and maybe that’s why I’ve lasted so long, alright,” Sanchez continued. “I continue to thrive in a special, unique, unorthodox approach that has led me to Joshua. And what he’s done for me, how this side of mixed martial arts is amazing and you really should look into it and become aware of that.
“I don’t look like I’m going anywhere,” Sanchez added. “I’m speaking healthy, and this is more than a fighting career because Diego Sanchez — the UFC fighter, the identity — that’s been done and dead. I am Diego Sanchez the human being now.”
When Sanchez felt like he was not getting the right treatment at JacksonWink MMA, he left his old gym and employed his new coach Joshua Fabia.
“Now that I step into this part of my purpose in life, understand that I’m making these decisions, I’m thinking about this,” Sanchez said. “I’m putting my heart, my mind, my daughter, and my mother and father — the three people that I have to take care of. I’m doing everything in the best of my ability, in the best way that I can for my future. And that includes standing up to the bullies who were taking advantage of me and not treating me correctly.
“This is just what it is. I know that a lot of people around the world are suffering from these same things, whether it be at their job or whether it be on the playground. They’re not saying, they’re not speaking up, they don’t have the courage. I want people to see me and see something different. A new generation, a new era of people believing in themselves and not just listening to what the comments say.”
This article first appeared on CLOSEDGUARDMEDIA.com on 27th February, 2020.
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