Diego Sanchez has revealed how his former coach and mentor Joshua Fabia manipulated him for his personal benefit.
Fabia made headlines when Sanchez was released by the UFC in May after he failed to prove that he was medically fit to compete against ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone at UFC Vegas 26. Subsequent to parting ways with the promotion, the pair levelled a string of allegations against Dana White and other UFC bigwigs.
Sanchez went as far as claiming that the UFC might try to kill him in response to his comments. Dana rejected the allegations, however. A few weeks after his UFC release, ‘The Nightmare’ also parted ways with Fabia, who fired off some heavy accusations against him.
Joshua Fabia’s Manipulation
During an Instagram Live (as transcribed by Bloody Elbow), Sanchez revealed how Joshua was using him for his sinister motives.
“[Fabia was] working his ass off to do whatever was best for his intentions… not what was best for Diego Sanchez. I believe my mentor was guiding me for what was best for him,” Sanchez said. “And what was best for him was to try and figure out a way to get a settlement with the UFC. He knew that if there was a major settlement with the UFC that I was going to hook him up with half, because it was him, it was all his idea, all his plan. He was masterminding everything. I made the mistake. I can’t go too much into that. I will get into it sometime, but it ain’t gonna be free and it ain’t gonna be on Instagram, and it’s going to be with a professional that understands mental manipulation.”
A Badass Trainer
While Fabia may have manipulated him, Sanchez believes that he learned a lot under his guardianship and would showcase his newly acquired skills in the Bare Knuckle FC, which is the most likely next destination for him.
“People can talk shit about Fabia all day, but man. That f***er was a badass trainer, and I learned a lot from him,” Sanchez said. “And people gonna see what I learned when I step into that BKFC because everything that we did for the last two years was no gloves. You saw the viral video of me upside down, getting hit. I wasn’t hurt, by the way.
“It’s all good, man. I’m where I need to be now. I got good people around me. The only thing that is my mentor, the only thing that is my guide is the holy spirit.”
Dangers Of Bare Knuckle Fighting
Given the nature of bare knuckle fighting, many believe fighting in the Bare Knuckle FC would be detrimental to Sanchez’s physical health, but he begs to differ.
“As far as BKFC having more damage than UFC? That’s some bulls***,” Sanchez said. “The kicks are like a baseball bat, you’ve got elbows, you got slams. You get slammed on your neck in MMA. You got a lot more hip injuries, knee injuries, everything. Back injuries.
“There’s not more trauma, there’s not more danger. There are some guys in bare knuckle that, right now at this time, they haven’t evolved. And the only thing they know how to do is brawl and come forward. But, like I said, I’m very excited to expand and bring what I have to bring to the table.”
Do you think the Bare Knuckle FC is the right destination for Diego Sanchez?
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