Diego Sanchez’s coach has explained why he chased UFC welterweight Emil Meek with a blade during a training session.
Sanchez’s coach, Joshua Fabia, has been under fire as of late. Many have criticized Fabia’s corner advice. This dates back to July 2019 when Sanchez was defeated by Michael Chiesa via unanimous decision. The “Nightmare” split from Jackson-Wink MMA. Those who criticized Fabia expressed their belief that the coach didn’t give helpful advice to Sanchez between rounds.
Fabia Explains Chasing Emil Meek With Blade
UFC welterweight Emil Meek told Tom Taylor of the South China Morning Post that he trained with Fabia one time and was chased with a blade. Speaking to MMAFighting.com, Fabia went over the drill.
“The drill is, they’re all in the octagon, moving, trying not to touch each other, or get touched by each other,” he said. “So I want you to think of an athletic, high-speed game of tag that allows you to play, but also play with that fear and anxiety space, without getting hurt, without feeling you can’t make a mistake.
“And so, this is happening, five, six, seven, eight, guys, and I progressively come in and I say, ‘On top of the game that’s going on, this is to enhance your awareness, now I’m coming in, do not allow me to touch you also. So now I’m like a wild animal, putting pressure on all of them and not allowing them to stay focused on their specific thing, and just moving them. This is what I do. I go out, they’re continuing again, I come in with a stick, make them move from the stick at different lengths and different speeds. This is why Pereira didn’t land those big kicks on Diego. Amazing.”
Fabia went on to say that he chases fighters around with a knife so that the competitors are prepared for their opposition. Fabia said the goal is to make sure his fighters always take their opponents seriously, otherwise, they might end up “losing an eye.”
Meek said he didn’t want to rag on Fabia or Sanchez but he did admit that he feels Sanchez is starting to get away from the fundamentals of MMA. He’s even claimed to have reached out to Sanchez to get him away from Fabia.
Fabia and Sanchez have said that the criticisms are part of a “smear campaign.” Sanchez has fired back at UFC color commentator Joe Rogan and former “champ-champ” Daniel Cormier for their assessment of Fabia’s corner work. Fabia took even more flak following Sanchez’s DQ win over Michel Pereira.
