JacksonWink MMA has been preparing for July 6 for a long time. The camp has Jon Jones and Holly Holm fighting for titles on the card, as well as Diego Sanchez taking on Michael Chiesa. Well, they won’t have Sanchez after all.
Speaking at a UFC 239 media day in Los Angeles, Sanchez revealed he will only have one trainer in his corner and he won’t be affiliated with JacksonWink MMA on fight night.
“I made a crucial decision,” Sanchez said to MMA Junkie. “This is a Diego Sanchez moment. I made a crucial decision. It’s three weeks before the fight. No more JW – Jackson-Wink, one of the best teams in the world. No. I’m going in with one trainer. I’m going in with one trainer. People are like, ‘Wow, what the hell, Diego? What are you thinking?’ Well, I’m not only thinking, I’m feeling. That’s a big part of who Diego Sanchez is: I don’t think too much. I don’t think it’s good to think too much. I think you’ve got to feel. You’ve got to feel this – your gut. You’ve got to feel this part right here that’s inside of you.
“All I know is I wasn’t learning,” he continued. I wasn’t growing as a mixed martial artist, that they were teaching me with the knowledge and information as trainers that they were doing. They were just basically going through the motions with Diego Sanchez.”
Diego Sanchez adds that there is nothing but respect for Greg Jackson and Mike Winkeljohn, but he knew the time was now to leave. He says he wasn’t learning and the focus was never about him.
“For this time in my career, there was no focus on Diego,” he explained. “There was no real love on Diego Sanchez. Maybe because we’ve got two belt fights, Jon (Jones) and Holly (Holm at UFC 239), but you know what? I don’t give a (expletive). I don’t give a (expletive). I’m Diego Sanchez. I am special. I’m a Hall of Famer.”
