Issue 050
June 2009
“The only way you’re going to achieve is to believe, and I believe in myself. Destiny is destiny, and I believe I will be the world champion.”
To call Diego ‘Nightmare’ Sanchez confident would be an understatement, but don’t be fooled – Sanchez is far from arrogant. Simply put, no other fighter in the world has the same level of self-belief as the 27-year-old Mexican-American.
It would be all too easy to laugh off some of Sanchez’s statements: When he talks, he punctuates himself with positive affirmations. Talking with him requires patience, because when he starts, it’s hard to get him to stop. As he said in an interview some three years ago, “I believe in myself. I’m going to continue to get better. I’m going to continue to learn. I’m going to get stronger, faster, more agile, more flexible; I’m going to reverse the aging process. I’m going to do yoga; I’m going to understand the way the energy system in the body works; my mind is going to go further; I’m going to go places human beings haven’t gone before. Everything evolves”.
Critics might laugh at some of the stuff that comes out of Sanchez’s mouth, and it’s true that when you speak to him you will need to suspend any doubts you may have for the length of your conversation, but it is hard not to admire his determination. But resolve and focus is something Sanchez has always had. He grew up “rough and tough” as an “underprivileged child”. He’s worked hard to better himself and fought for everything he has, so why should that stop now?
His appearance on the first series of TUF (The Ultimate Fighter, of which he won the middleweight bracket back in 2005) gave the world a taste of his individual personality and unusual training methods. More importantly, it showcased his considerable talents. After winning TUF, Sanchez fought a series of blistering matches with the likes of Nick Diaz, Karo Parisyan and Joe Riggs.
He dropped two fights back-to-back in 2007, both decision losses, to Josh Koscheck and Jon Fitch (who are teammates at the American Kickboxing Academy). But Sanchez is now a 155lb fighter and he’s eyeing up rematches with both of them. “I lost a fight to Koscheck with a staph infection where he played hit and run. I lost a split-decision to Jon Fitch where he tried to hold me down and not do much,” he said.
“Whatever the UFC want me to do, it’s up to them. I am sure they like me at 155lb but later down the road, or even if it’s presented to me, I would like to fight Fitch and Koscheck again.”
If you think it’s strange that Sanchez is talking of fights at welterweight shortly after his debut at 155lb, don’t be alarmed, it’s all part of the master plan. “Later down the road I will be back at 170lb, most likely in my 30s. I am 27 now and I got a good three years here at 155lb but when I am 30 it is going to be harder [to make the cut] and I want to put the muscle on.”
What that means is that Sanchez is promising us at least three years of competing at lightweight, and as you would expect, he is typically ambitious. “Of course, BJ Penn is who I want, but also Kenny Florian would be good,” he said. “It just depends who the UFC want me to fight. They know who I want, they know I want the best. You know what, there are three guys. There is Sherk, there is Florian, and there is Penn. Those are the only three guys that they will give me.”
Facing off with either Florian or Penn seems a mouth-watering prospect for the fans, for a multitude of reasons. Sanchez and Florian met in the TUF finale as middleweights, with Florian first making the drop in weight after the show finished and they joined the UFC proper. Now some four years later with Sanchez also at 155lb, this fight could easily become reality.
“[A fight with] Kenny Florian would be a war, two southpaws, it would be a very interesting fight and a very exciting rematch. All I know is I beat Kenny Florian already, and I don’t care what anybody says about ‘oh he is a different fighter now’, I am a different fighter now, we’re both different fighters now. But I beat him and I decisively beat him in the first round.”
Facing his old foe Florian is one thing, but to call out BJ Penn might seem like biting off more than you can chew. Unless you’re Diego Sanchez, of course. “I’m down to lightweight because I’m going after BJ Penn, I’m going after the title. I’ve proved myself, I’ve paid my dues to the company and the fans. Who doesn’t want to see Sanchez-Penn?”
Sanchez was highly ranked while at 170lb, and it was only the losses to Koscheck and Fitch that set him back from his road to the title. Now at 155, it is feasible that he could challenge the winner of Florian-Penn. Sanchez, brimming with confidence as ever, says it straight when asked about how a between him and BJ would go.
“I feel that I match up well with BJ Penn, and I think that in all areas of the game. I feel that I beat him in the conditioning. Penn’s last performance [vs GSP] is what it is, and I was very disappointed because I am a big BJ Penn fan, and I was rooting for Penn, but it is disappointing to see a fighter get tired that fast, you know? We are professionals, come in shape, come ready to go to war.
“I’ve never got tired in my whole career, and to see BJ Penn get tired in the first round gave me a lot of confidence to go into a fight with him. I am even more confident that I could go in there and win the lightweight title.”
Sanchez has a fervor for training that outstrips that of many other fighters. Having relocated from his home of New Mexico to San Diego, California, Sanchez now trains with the Ribeiro brothers, Saulo and Xande, two of the Brazilian jiu-jitsu and submission grappling world’s best competitors and teachers. Sanchez simply calls them “amazing”.
Often preparing for his fights in the mountains at Big Bear, California, the Bad Boy-sponsored fighter has been working extensively with coach Richie Ortiz and professional boxer Joey Gilbert, and it shows in his increased willingness to trade. “I feel that I’ve evolved more in the striking. I’m just on another level of athleticism, conditioning and mental toughness. I feel that I have gotten better in all aspects of the game. I feel I’m a better fighter.”
Overcoming the rough period in 2007, Sanchez has looked unstoppable. The jiu-jitsu black belt TKO’d both David Bielkheden and Luigi Fioravanti, with Fioravanti even finding himself on the end of a nasty high kick that Sanchez used well in his recent fight with Joe Stevenson. Sanchez’s kickboxing looked sharper than ever against Joe ‘Daddy’, who he picked apart methodically over three rounds for a decision.
Though he didn’t get the finish, Sanchez was still happy with the performance, and rightly so. “More than anything I was just going out there and having fun, I was testing myself and it was like playing a new instrument that hasn’t been played before, testing how the weight felt,” he said.
“When you just stand in front of someone and bang with them, it’s like taking a lottery ticket, one guys going to get it. It’s like rolling the dice and I am a smart, strategic fighter, and I have worked too hard to roll the dice. I am going to be smart and strategic and I am going to use my mind and I’m going to use my skills.”
If anything, Sanchez’s mind is his most formidable weapon. Though he’s an adept striker, solid wrestler and excellent submission grappler, it is his unshakeable self-belief that wins him fights. Now firmly on the winning track, he feels it’s time the UFC recognize this and allow him to cement his position as one of the most exciting fighters in the world.
“I have proved myself, I have paid my dues for the UFC. I am an 11-fight veteran. I deserve my title shot, and the fans want to see me fight for the title at 155lb because this is my true weight. I was fighting welterweight at 172, so I have proved myself in this sport and I know I am worthy of a title shot. I feel in my heart I am the best 155lb fighter in the world.”
THE BAD BOY FACTOR
The company many see as the original MMA brand, Bad Boy started out life selling technical clothing for Brazilian surfers. When the Brazilian jiu-jitsu community, many of whom surf, trained without the gi, they elected to grapple in the rash guards and board shorts they wore when surfing.
Bad Boy rose to fame when they sponsored Rickson Gracie in the early ‘90s, and as the sport grew they continued to support fighters and tournaments. As time went on, the famous Bad Boy ‘eyes’ logo started appearing in rings and cages around the world. The brand became synonymous with the best Brazilian fighters, with many even getting the logo tattooed on their bodies.
Diego Sanchez is one of many top MMA fighters who are part of the Bad Boy family, and he is joined by the likes of Lyoto Machida, Roger Huerta, ‘Shogun’ Rua, Antonio Rogerio ‘Minotoro’ Nogueira and more.
Bad Boy was the first lifestyle brand in Brazil to popularize and legitimize MMA to the general public, and their continuing mission is to do the same across the rest of the world.
Written by Hywel Teague, with contributions from John Joe O’Regan
