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Diego “The Nightmare” Sanchez truly is MMA’s gift that keeps on giving.
The very first winner of The Ultimate Fighter, Sanchez has been cracking jaws inside the Octagon for over 14 years, recording 18 victories in the UFC, while taking home eight fight night bonuses. He’s faced legends like Nick Diaz and B.J. Penn, and even fought for the lightweight title back in 2009.
Set to be inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame on July 5, Sanchez is on the verge of making his thirtieth walk to the Octagon to kick off he UFC 239 Pay Per View main card on ESPN+, and in honor of his legendary career, Sanchez is spilling the beans on some of his more memorable moments with the UFC.
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“Nick diaz did throw a shoe at me in the back,” offers Sanchez in regards to their 2005 matchup, a fight that he considers the greatest performance of his career. “That would without a doubt be Diego Sanchez versus Nick Diaz. I think that Nick Diaz is an amazing striker, an amazing southpaw … and you know I was able to defile his striking. I got hit with one upkick that was hard and I got hit with one jab, one glancing jab that cut me, but I was able to shut down Nick Diaz’ entire striking game, and shut down his submission game and be completely dominant in that fight. It was a scramble, but I was the scrambled egg that came out on top.”
Reminiscing is easy for Sanchez these days. Finding a new lease on life post divorce, he recently made another important separation in his life, leaving Jackson-Wink MMA, his long time training camp, just three weeks out from his UFC 239 fight against surging welterweight Michael Chiesa. Finding greener pastures with School of Self Awareness founder Joshua Fabia, Sanchez is reveling in his relationship with his new sensei.
“He was an army ranger, he became a contractor, he was working with the feds, and he trains government spies worldwide,” comments Sanchez. “He needs me for his mission that is bigger than fighting. And I need him cause I need to be a ruthless Jedi that gets sh!t done. And that means breaking arms, breaking necks, breaking … hearts and faces. That is what I’m coming here to do.”
Sanchez has always been one of those heart-on-sleeve fan favorites. He once famously carried a cross to the Octagon and has been very vocal about health, wellness, and anti-aging techniques. He also has the mindset of a vicious killer hidden beneath his wide-eyed and comical smile. It’s a true Jekyll and Hyde dichotomy that has captured the attention of fans worldwide.
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Resurrecting his career after suffering a pair of brutal knockout losses in 2017, Sanchez has looked sharp in his return to welterweight. First outpointing a towering Craig White at UFC 228, Sanchez recently earned his first stoppage victory in over a decade in March, battering the highly touted Mickey Gall at UFC 235.
Following the win, Sanchez revealed that Gall bit him during the fight, but “The Nightmare” opted not to inform the referee, and instead take his revenge on a clearly outmatched opponent.
Still a complete savage at 37, Sanchez is also excited about being enshrined in the UFC Hall of Fame for his 2009 fight against Clay Guida, even if he doesn’t believe it’s the greatest fight of his storied career.
“I don’t feel that that was the best fight, but I have definitely had a lot of fans over the course of the last 10 years coming up to me and telling me that ‘that fight with you and Guida, that’s what got me into MMA’,” adds Sanchez. “I know that that was a TV fight and a lot of people were watching on TV, and just that first round was just so wild, and we kept that wildness up the entire fight and that was a real barnburner … I still think it was a very unanimous decision where I cut him seven times on the top of his head with the elbows. He didn’t do no damage on the ground and pound on me so, he didn’t really do nothing to me in the fight. I landed all the strikes in the standing, but the blood, the blood, if we didn’t have Clay’s blood in the fight it wouldn’t have been an epic, classical battle.”
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TUF 1️⃣ meets TUF 1️⃣5️⃣ at #UFC239 July 6! pic.twitter.com/LYxtgZTumz
— UFC (@ufc) June 24, 2019
There’s a spark in Sanchez’ eyes when he mentions the blood. It triggers some additional motivation and inspiration for his upcoming fight versus Michael Chiesa on the UFC 239 Pay Per View main card on ESPN+, and Sanchez is literally chomping at the bit, mad dogging his soon-to-be opponent from across a hotel ballroom in Los Angeles.
“I don’t care about this guy. I’m glad he don’t got kids, but you know, I’m gonna make his momma real sad July 6. “Michael chiesa is a grappler that’s training a striking strategy to come in and try to knock out the old guy because they see him get knocked out at [lightweight]. They seen him get elbowed in the back of the head by Matt Brown and go out for a KO. But believe me, besides that one fall at 170 to Matt Brown where I got hit in the back of the head, ain’t no one put me down at [welterweight] … at welterweight, man, I’m confident in myself. I am the David in the Goliath vision, and I’m coming for all these goliaths right here in this room. I’m gonna hurt these men. I’m gonna hurt these men, every one of them … I think that I’m the dirty Sanchez, and I’m bringing the dirt.”
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