UFC President Dana White has revealed details behind the release of Diego Sanchez and attributes his decision to the actions of a cancerous third party.
Diego Sanchez had one final request before ending his 16-year UFC run. He wanted a proper farewell fight against another legendary mainstay before walking away from the promotion he has called home since the very first season of The Ultimate Fighter.
The promotion granted his request by putting him against a fellow “OG” in Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone, someone whom Sanchez had expressed interest in fighting even prior to making his farewell-fight requests. It seemed like the perfect opponent for “The Nightmare” to bring his UFC tenure to an end. Unfortunately, one week prior to this fight taking place, all hell broke loose according to Dana White.
White has disclosed that Sanchez’s coach, Joshua Fabia, requested to be sent all of Sanchez’s medical records dating back to 2004. In a follow-up discussion with UFC’s Executive Vice President & Chief Business Officer Hunter Campbell, Fabia implied that Sanchez may have been suffering from long-term and/or short-term medical issues despite the fact that Sanchez had already passed a medical examination issued by the UFC.
Campbell then reached out to Sanchez regarding these requests made on his behalf, but the newfound concerns for Sanchez’s wellbeing were not alleviated. It was at this point that the UFC made the decision to cut Sanchez.
Dana White Runs Down “Creep” Joshua Fabia
Dana White insists that his relationship with Diego Sanchez remains strong, but he believes everything began to go downhill once Sanchez aligned himself with Fabia.
“I have an incredible, amazing relationship with Diego and I like him very much and I hope he is OK,” White told Yahoo Sports. “One of the sad things that happens, not just in fighting but in sports, and I want you to quote me on this, are these creepy weirdos who come from God knows where and leech onto fighters or athletes. They never do any good for them.
“Somehow, this creep got into Diego’s life and has been controlling him. You saw the video of him chasing guys in the Octagon with a knife. How [expletive] nuts is that? He goes to the commission and tells them that he’s taught Diego this death touch. It goes on and on with this guy. He goes into the [fighter-broadcaster] production meeting and tells the commentators what they should be saying? The guy is bats*** nuts. He worked his way into Diego’s life and has gotten control over him. I just want the best for Diego.”
All signs point to Diego Sanchez having every intention of continuing his combat sports career. Following his UFC departure, he was sure to tag multiple combat sports promotions in a social media post and has made no direct mention of retiring.
What would you like to see next for Diego Sanchez?
