Diego Sanchez issues statement after knockout loss to Matt Brown
On Saturday night, in the co-main event of the UFC’s anticipated visit to Norfolk, Virginia, fan favorite brawlers Matt Brown and Diego Sanchez stepped into the cage in an early frontrunner for Fight of the Night honors.
While expectations that this bout would be a thriller were justified, it didn’t last long enough to earn a Fight of the Night bonus, as the much larger Brown quickly put his foe down with a hammer-like elbow to the temple.
In the wake of this win, Brown explained that he plans on taking some time to reconsider the loose retirement plans he laid out ahead of the fight. Sanchez, meanwhile, finds himself mired in a tough, two-fight skid, having also been knocked out in his next most recent fight, succumbing to first-round punches from Al Iaquinta.
Given that Sanchez has received so much punishment over his last few bouts – and really, over his career as a whole – many fans and pundits feel that he, like Brown, should be considering retirement. While Sanchez has clearly heard these outcries, he made no mention of them post fight. Instead, he took to Instagram to congratulate Brown on the win. See Diego Sanchez’s post-fight statement below.
“All respect in martial arts, Sanchez said. “[Matt Brown] and I both shared the same respect tonight. Losing in competition always hurts, but to have your opponent give you love and respect after is something special about our brutal hurt business.”
Do you think it’s time for Diego Sanchez to hang ’em up?
This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 12/11/2017.
