Diego Sanchez News
Michael Chiesa responds after Coach Fabia reveals plans for 'death choke' at UFC 239
Harry Kettle - February 21, 2020
Michael Chiesa has issued a response after claims from Diego Sanchez’s coach Joshua Fabia that they had plans for a ‘death choke’ at UFC 239. Chiesa and Sanchez went toe to toe during International Fight Week back in July 2019 with the former coming out on top in a fairly lopsided unanimous decision victory. Alas, even though Chiesa has gone on to also beat Rafael dos Anjos, there’s a whole lot more attention on Sanchez right now following his controversial DQ win at UFC Rio Rancho last weekend.
Chael Sonnen gets fired up while defending Diego Sanchez DQ win
Natasha Hooper - February 21, 2020
Diego Sanchez has become a hot topic of conversation recently, but MMA analyst Chael Sonnen has the welterweight’s back. In 2019, “The Nightmare” announced he would be leaving his training home of JacksonWink MMA to try an unorthodox training approach with self-awareness coach Joshua Fabia. His new training strategy was once again put to the test when Sanchez faced Michel Pereira at UFC Rio Rancho this month. By all accounts, his opponent was leading the fight before delivering a clear illegal knee to Sanchez in the third round. Sanchez had the option to continue the fight, but he decided to refrain and ultimately claimed the disqualification victory.
Coach Joshua Fabia responds to criticism, claims Diego Sanchez has ‘Mayweather level’ defense
Cole Shelton - February 20, 2020
Joshua Fabia, the coach, trainer, and manager of Diego Sanchez is firing back at his critics. He says his pupil has some of the best defense in MMA and isn’t sure why he is getting made fun of. Back at UFC 239, Sanchez had a public falling out with JacksonWink. There, he dropped them on fight week and only used one cornerman in Fabia. Since that fight and Sanchez’s most recent scrap at UFC Rio Rancho, Fabia was critiqued by the way he communicated and the movements he shows.
Diego Sanchez goes off on Daniel Cormier for commentary 'bias' at UFC Rio Rancho
Tom Taylor - February 19, 2020
Diego Sanchez and his unorthodox coach Joshua Fabia have been the subject of much controversy in the wake of Saturday’s UFC Rio Rancho card. Sanchez fought in the card’s co-main event, defeating Michel Pereira by disqualification after he was nuked by an illegal knee in the third round.
Michel Pereira claims that illegal knee never hit Diego Sanchez in the head
Cole Shelton - February 18, 2020
Michel Pereira doesn’t believe that his knee collided with the head of Diego Sanchez this past Saturday. At UFC Rio Rancho, Pereira was looking to return to the win column against Sanchez. After dominating the opening two rounds of the fight, Pereira threw a knee that appeared to hit Sanchez in the head while he was grounded. The referee ruled the strike was illegal, and because Sanchez couldn’t continue, he was awarded the DQ win.
Kenny Florian blames Michel Pereira for DQ loss against Diego Sanchez
Fernando Quiles - February 18, 2020
Kenny Florian believes Michel Pereira has no one to blame but himself for being disqualified against Diego Sanchez. Pereira and Sanchez collided this past Saturday night (Feb. 15). The bout served as UFC Rio Rancho’s co-main event. While Pereira appeared to have easily snagged rounds one and two, he made a costly mistake in the final frame. Pereira landed an illegal knee on a downed Sanchez. The “Nightmare” said he was unable to continue and the fight was called off. Sanchez was awarded the DQ win.
Diego Sanchez praises 'wise man' Conor McGregor amid UFC Rio Rancho controversy
Tom Taylor - February 18, 2020
Diego Sanchez was the subject of quite a bit of criticism after he accepted a disqualification win over Michel Pereira at UFC Rio Rancho last weekend. Amid this criticism, Sanchez has taken the time to give the nod to the people who have supported him. He believes Conor McGregor is one of those people. Sanchez and Pereira fought in the co-main event of the UFC Rio Rancho card. The bout ended in the third round when Pereira blasted Sanchez with an illegal knee, and Sanchez said he could not continue.
Dana White, Michael Bisping support Diego Sanchez amid UFC Rio Rancho criticisms
Tom Taylor - February 18, 2020
Diego Sanchez has been criticized by many members of the MMA community after accepting a disqualification victory against Michel Pereira in the co-main event. UFC President Dana White and former UFC middleweight champ Michael Bisping are not among those critics. Sanchez fought Pereira in the main event of UFC Rio Rancho last Saturday. After losing the first two rounds, he was blasted by an illegal knee in the third. When he was unable to continue, he was awarded a win via disqualification.
John McCarthy on Diego Sanchez following UFC Rio Rancho: "How many fights is enough fights?"
Christopher Taylor - February 17, 2020
Referee John McCarthy believes there is just “something completely different” about Diego Sanchez following last weekend’s UFC event in Rio Rancho. The UFC legend, Sanchez, picked up a disqualification victory over Michel Pereira in front of a home crowd in New Mexico Saturday night.
Michel Pereira takes shot at 'chicken' Diego Sanchez
Tom Taylor - February 17, 2020
Michael Pereira is not happy with the way his fight with Diego Sanchez ended. The pair fought in the co-main event of last Saturday’s UFC Rio Rancho card on ESPN+. After seemingly winning the first two rounds, Pereira was disqualified in the third after landing he landed an illegal knee and Sanchez declared himself unable to continue fighting.
Diego Sanchez and coach slam Joe Rogan and the media after 'smear campaign'
Tom Taylor - February 17, 2020
Over the weekend, in the co-main event of UFC Rio Rancho, Diego Sanchez picked up a disqualification win over Michel Pereira after being blasted by an illegal knee in the third-round. Prior to the illegal move, Sanchez was seemingly down two rounds. Suffice it to say that it was not the greatest performance of his long and exciting career.
Mike Perry defends Diego Sanchez’s 'smart' decision to take the win at UFC Rio Rancho
Harry Kettle - February 17, 2020
Mike Perry has defended Diego Sanchez’s decision to accept a disqualification victory over Michel Pereira at UFC Rio Rancho this past weekend. The bout between Sanchez and Pereira, which served as the co-main event of the evening in New Mexico, seemed to be trending in one direction and one direction only: a unanimous decision win for Pereira.
Conor McGregor teases Diego Sanchez fight, gets called out by Michel Pereira
Tom Taylor - February 16, 2020
Conor McGregor teased a potential fight with Diego Sanchez and promptly got called out by Sanchez’s latest opponent, Michel Pereira. Sanchez and Pereira fought in the co-main event of UFC Rio Rancho on Saturday night. After winning rounds one and two, Pereira was disqualified in the third after blasting Sanchez with an illegal knee.
Diego Sanchez got some strange advice from his 'guru' between rounds
Tom Taylor - February 16, 2020
In the co-main event of Saturday’s UFC Rio Rancho card, The Ultimate Fighter season 1 winner Diego Sanchez had his second fight under the tutelage of controversial coach Joshua Fabia. The bout pitted him against Brazilian berserker Michel Pereira. Fabia, who calls himself a “self-awareness coach” and has no real martial arts experience, was the lone person in Sanchez’s corner for this fight, and he had some interesting advice for the fighter between rounds.
Pros react to Diego Sanchez defeating Michel Pereira via DQ at UFC Rio Rancho
Chris Taylor - February 15, 2020
Tonight’s UFC Rio Rancho event was co-headlined by an exciting welterweight bout between fan favorites Diego Sanchez and Michel Pereira. Sanchez (29-12 MMA) entered tonight’s event looking to rebound, this after suffering a unanimous decision setback to Michael Chiesa in his most recent Octagon appearance at UFC 239. Prior to the loss, ‘The Nightmare’ was coming off back-to-back victories over opponents Craig White and Mickey Gall respectively.
UFC Rio Rancho Results: Diego Sanchez def. Michel Pereira via DQ (Highlights)
Chris Taylor - February 15, 2020
Tonight’s UFC Rio Rancho event is co-headlined by an exciting welterweight bout between fan favorites Diego Sanchez and Michel Pereira. Sanchez (29-12 MMA) is coming off a unanimous decision setback to Michael Chiesa in his most recent Octagon appearance at UFC 239. Prior to the loss, ‘The Nightmare’ was coming off back-to-back victories over opponents Craig White and Mickey Gall respectively.
Diego Sanchez discusses benefits of training with 'self awareness' coach Joshua Fabia
Tom Taylor - February 12, 2020
After spending the majority of his fighting career with the famed JacksonWink MMA team in Albuquerque, New Mexico, The Ultimate Fighter 1 winner Diego Sanchez cut ties with the gym and began working with a man named Joshua Fabia. Fabia, a ‘self awareness’ coach, has very little experience in the martial arts. As a result, many fans were critical of Sanchez’s decision to train with this unconventional coach.
Diego Sanchez accepts three-month USADA sanction
Adam Martin - January 31, 2020
Veteran UFC welterweight Diego Sanchez has accepted a three-month sanction from USADA for a violation of the UFC Anti-Doping Policy. Sanchez tested positive for the prohibited substances ostarine and S-23 in an out-of-competition test in December and was given a three-month sanction. However, USADA says these substances originated in Sanchez’s system in October, making him eligible to still fight Michel Pereira at UFC Rio Rancho in February.