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[Cat--Smasher]

Diego Sanchez Says His Jackson's MMA Teammates Fights 'Sucked'

On Monday's edition of The MMA Hour, Sanchez told MMAFighting.com's Ariel Helwani that the most recent performances by his Jackson's MMA teammates, Guida and Carlos Condit, both "sucked" and that he felt Condit lost his February fight with Nick Diaz.

"I thought both of those fights sucked," Sanchez said of Diaz-Condit and Guida's loss to Gray Maynard. "My coaches might get mad at me for that, but that's my opinion and I'm allowed to have my opinion.

"I thought Nick Diaz won the fight with Carlos. When you're not engaging and you're not fighting, that takes away what this sport is. That's my opinion, that's why I want to fight someone like the Diaz boys who will come and step in front of you and fight you. I guess that's all opinion, but the fans, they have my back on this, and that's what fighting's all about. It's for the fans, and Dana White knows this. That's why he gets so pissed off when there's crappy fights like that. Us as fighters, we must step it up if we want to get taken care of and get paid right and grow this fight into the biggest spot in the world, above all other sports, we have to get in the cage and we have to leave it all in the cage every time."

Sanchez, who is on the sidelines after getting surgery to repair a torn left labrum, was careful to say that he places the blame for poor fights on the fighters themselves, and not coaches Greg Jackson and Mike Winklejohn.

"It's on that fighter," Sanchez said. "In the end, they lock the door and the coaches aren't in there with you. In the end, if you're in the UFC, you are a professional, you paid your dues, and you know exactly what this job entails. You should go in there as a professional and do what you do. ... I'd rather go out swinging, fighting like a warrior, those last 30 seconds. I'm going to leave it all out in the cage and know that I'm trying to finish my opponent, even knowing that most of my time it ain't going to be a finish."

"It makes sense," he said. "I went over it with Greg Jackson and my coaches, and, it just makes sense. Everyone's dropping weight. When I saw [Nate] Marquardt fight at 170, I was like, this guy's a monster. He's huge, he's strong, he's in shape. I'm just not that physically big, so I was like, I better do what I have to do, get down to 155, be where I'm going to have the most leverage, strength, speed, the best technique. And also on top of that have less injuries training with smaller guys, less weight, less load on the knees. Its a smarter decision toward the end of my career."

Asked the obligatory "who do you want to fight" question, Diaz said a bout with Nate Diaz appeals to him for all the right reasons.

"The UFC's smart," he said. They'll capitalize on my entertainment and what I bring to the table and what I bring to the cage, and that's a raw, exciting warrior mentality. So, matched up with any of those guys [at 155], the guy I want the most is Nate Diaz. If he wants to scrap, I know he's knocking at the door of a title shot, so, I have all the respect for him in that area. So, you know, if things don't work out with the timing, he's the one that I'd like to fight, because I love them Diaz boys. They're two of my favorite fighters, they come and they bring it and they scrap, and I love it. That's fighting, to me."

Sanchez said he anticipates an early 2013 Octagon return. Until then, he reminded fans one more time that it's on fighters to get the job done.

"Don't give Greg and Coach Wink the hard rap," he said. "There's so many Jackson fighters like me, guys like Jon [Jones], there's so many guys who are just straight-up warriors, who leave everything in the cage."

Diego Sanchez Says His Jackson's MMA Teammates Fights 'Sucked' - MMA Fighting

[Sniggles]

[rabidsponge]

good for him, im sure he may take some heat for his comments but its very refreshing to see someone give their honest opinion and not the tow the camp line

[Pasha K]

I do not completely agree.
People should realize that despite all, at the end this is a SPORT. In any sport, you must have a stretegy, a tactic, at the end, you need to win the fight.

You can not come and brawl like a crazy person ala Wandy all the time. With some people it may be the right choice, with others not.
Condit did the right strategy and won a fight against someone that has better stand up and better grappling. If he went nuts swinging he would probably ended up getting KOd, because Nick is one of the best boxers in MMA.

Machida was heavily criticized for his style for a long time, he has his style of countering, he is elusive. However for a long time people said that he was a coward, that he was just running all the time. It is not that he is a coward, it is that he has his style and he is so damn good at it.

BTW it is very disrespectful that Sanchez says that his teammates suck, even if it was true, it is not very smart from his part to say those things.

He has not been looking very amazing either to say the least.

[Mr. Cornute]

I agree with you Pash about it being a sport, definitely though I like hearing what Diego has to say. I'll be a Diego Sanchez fan till the death of me & this made me like him that much more.

[CapCee]

Originally Posted by Pasha K

I do not completely agree.
People should realize that despite all, at the end this is a SPORT. In any sport, you must have a stretegy, a tactic, at the end, you need to win the fight.

You can not come and brawl like a crazy person ala Wandy all the time. With some people it may be the right choice, with others not.
Condit did the right strategy and won a fight against someone that has better stand up and better grappling. If he went nuts swinging he would probably ended up getting KOd, because Nick is one of the best boxers in MMA.

Machida was heavily criticized for his style for a long time, he has his style of countering, he is elusive. However for a long time people said that he was a coward, that he was just running all the time. It is not that he is a coward, it is that he has his style and he is so damn good at it.

BTW it is very disrespectful that Sanchez says that his teammates suck, even if it was true, it is not very smart from his part to say those things.

He has not been looking very amazing either to say the least.

Yeah, it is a sport. And in soccer, basketball, American football, hockey, etc., you can't score without attacking the other team's side of the playing field!

[carbondioxide830]

i disagree with the condit/diaz fight "sucking," but you have to respect the honesty of sanchez. i dont think there's a single person on this planet that could ever question the fortitude of diego. can't wait to see the dream back at 155 - lots of good fights for him there.

[dbader08]

Originally Posted by carbondioxide830

i disagree with the condit/diaz fight "sucking," but you have to respect the honesty of sanchez. i dont think there's a single person on this planet that could ever question the fortitude of diego. can't wait to see the dream back at 155 - lots of good fights for him there.

I agree. It seems like he comes into fights in better shape at 155 and just fits in better there since guys can't hold him down really. He is someone who won't falter, a solid grappler with pretty decent stand up with a scary top game. I would love to see him fight Henderson.

[MIZjitsZOU]

Can't wait to see Diego fight again.

I see this both ways. I love his honesty, but I would never say this about my teammates in public.

The dream at 155 will be awesome. Too bad that fight with ellenberger wasn't 5 rounds.

[Pasha K]

Originally Posted by CapCee

Yeah, it is a sport. And in soccer, basketball, American football, hockey, etc., you can't score without attacking the other team's side of the playing field!

Of course you can. Have you ever seen how does Real Madrid or Chelsea play?
They are defend the whole time, but they are great in the counters.
The other team has 15 ocassions but scores zero goals, Real Madrid or Chelsea in the whole game have maybe 5 ocassions, and of those 5, they score 2 or 3 goals.

A good example is Barcelona vs Chelsea in the Champions League. Barca had over 20 ocassions and scored none, Chelsea had only one and scored. At the end Chelsea won 1-0.

Same thing in MMA. Machida is a good example, he gets attacked but does not get hit. He counters and his opponent is KOd. (The Jones and Shogun fights are exceptions)