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Diego Sanchez talks about taking the disqualification win over Michel Pereira at UFC Rio Rancho.
“No. It was an illegal shot. I can’t see. The blood. I can’t see.”
That was Diego Sanchez telling the referee he can’t continue anymore, after taking an illegal knee on Saturday night.
Michel Pereira was easily winning all three rounds of their bout, but he unfortunately landed an illegal strike that cost him the bout. Sanchez went on to win the fight via disqualification, but some pundits have criticized the long term UFC veteran for it.
“Did I quit? No,” Sanchez told MMA Junkie. “I got hit with a (expletive) serious knee to the head. I knew I was going down on the scorecards, I knew how things were rolling out. 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 went on to say that he deserves more respect from people, and stands by his decision.
“My opponent lost control. He did not have the awareness to notice that I had gone down from a shot to the ribs,” Sanchez said. “That really injured me, that shot to the ribs. It broke two of my ribs completely. I went down. He did not have the awareness that I went down. He threw a fully powered shot to my mother(expletive) dome piece, that split my wig. Split my forehead. I’m not your average human being. It did not knock me out, but did it damage me? Yes.
“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. 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.”
By taking the disqualification win, Sanchez not only saved himself from further damage, he managed to pick up a victory that makes a lot of financial sense for him.
He was on his way to a defeat, but after Pereira’s own mistake, Sanchez was now able to get over $100,000 added to his paycheck from his win bonus. He also avoided dropping two straight and having four losses out of six bouts, which would’ve likely meant a release from the UFC.
Say what you want about the entertainment factor and the anticlimactic end, but it is indeed the smart decision to pick the option where you take less damage, save your career, and earn double the money.