Morning Report: Diego Sanchez stands by controversial coach Joshua Fabia, responds to criticism

MMAfighting.com

At UFC Rio Rancho, Diego Sanchez got beat up by Michel Pereira for the better part of three rounds before Pereira landed an illegal knee to head of a downed Sanchez, resulting in a DQ win for “The Nightmare”. In the aftermath of the win, large amounts of criticism were levied against Sanchez’s coach and cornerman, Joshua Fabia, for his cornering advice and his unorthodox coaching methodologies which, at least to the outside observer, seemed wholly useless. In response, Sanchez immediately defended Fabia from the media’s “bullying” and then continued doing so with an Instagram post arguing that anyone who cannot see the vast improvement in his game is “too corrupted”. Well, nearly two weeks later and Sanchez is still picking this particular fight.

Speaking with MMAJunkie recently, Sanchez once again lambasted the MMA community for its rampant disrespect of his coach and doubled down on his defense of Fabia, saying he has no intention of changing his training methods anytime soon.

“I could address that very easily,” Sanchez said. “Joshua is my brother, my mentor, my guide, my manager, my trainer.

“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. 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.”

Sanchez has been fighting in the UFC for 15 years and is a current UFC Hall of Famer. However, since linking up with Fabia, Sanchez’s record is 1-1, the win being his controversial DQ over Pereira and his loss being a lop-sided decision to Michael Chiesa. In fact, much of the criticism against Fabia comes from the fact that Sanchez appears to have regressed as a fighter in his last two outings. Now, at 38 years old that could just be Father Time catching up to “The Nightmare” but Sanchez insists that he has plenty left in the tank.

“I don’t look like I’m going anywhere,” Sanchez said. “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.

“And so now that I step into this part of my purpose in life, understand that I’m making these decisions, I’m thinking about this. 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.”