Diego Sanchez Defends ‘Veteran Decision’ To Take DQ Win At UFC Rio Rancho
UFC veteran Diego Sanchez faced a ton of criticism over the weekend for his performance at UFC Rio Rancho.
First, Sanchez and his coach, Josh Fabia, faced a ton of backlash for their cornering method. The one-man corner seemed to lack technical advice, and Fabia was more so advising Sanchez in a spiritual manner. It resulted in a performance from Sanchez that did not reflect his usual fighting style. Opponent Michel Pereira was outscoring Sanchez cleary on the scorecards, before delivering an illegal knee to Sanchez in the third round.
Sanchez, who conversed with the referee after the knee, was asking if he’d receive the disqualification win should he not be able to continue fighting. The referee wouldn’t answer the question directly, but Sanchez decided that he couldn’t continue after taking the knee, and was awarded the disqualification win. Sanchez has taken a lot of heat for this decision on social media, and told MMA Junkie he made a “smart, veteran decision.”
“I knew I was going down on the scorecards, I knew how things were rolling out,” Sanchez said. “I made a smart, veteran decision because I know my face is, regardless or not of the last two minutes of the fight, my face is going to be covered in blood. The image is going to be painted on the judges.
“I already know. I don’t have a chance of winning that fight anymore. So, did I quit? I made a (expletive) smart decision to not put myself in some real danger where I would’ve been injured when that mother(expletive) hit me with an illegal shot when I was down.”
Sanchez was cut very badly during the fight and was bleeding profusely. The Ultimate Fighter Season One (TUF 1) winner argued that things like that also affect judging, and his decision to take the disqualification victory also prevented him from possibly suffering an injury.
“How about the blood? How about the scar that’s going to be with me for the rest of my life? How about the blood that’s going to impact the judges? How about all this going forward? What if I get really (expletive) hurt? I made the right decision,” Sanchez said.
“I don’t need you guys look down here like, ‘Oh, I might have the biggest heart in the sport but I quit because I was (expletive) scared of Pereira.’ I’ve been doing this longer than (expletive) anybody and I deserve a little respect. If the UFC and the MMA community and the media don’t want to give it to me, I’m going to go (expletive) take it.”
What do you think about Sanchez’s decision to take the disqualification win at UFC Rio Rancho?
