UFC legend Diego Sanchez is set to make his BKFC debut against former world champion boxer Austin Trout, and it appears Sanchez still has a massive chip on his shoulder leading into the fight.
Scheduled for February 17th, the match between Sanchez and Trout has many skeptical, with fans worried about ‘The Nightmare’ making his debut against such a younger and more seasoned boxer. Sanchez’s last few UFC fights were brutal beatdowns he found himself on the wrong side of, and that, combined with a poor choice in coach (Joshua Fabia), left many hoping for Sanchez’s retirement.
Videos surfaced of Diego Sanchez tied up, hanging from a rope, as Fabia literally beat him. His coach rocked his body with jabs and hooks as the legend was forced to deal with the blows as he was tied up and defenseless. It was some sick, and twisted footage that many hoped was just a publicity stunt, even though the sad facts pointed to this being a normal occurrence between the two.
That, combined with other brutal beatdowns inside the UFC octagon, as previously stated: led to the UFC and ‘The Nightmare’ parting ways. A boxing exhibition with Dan Hardy was scheduled but was canceled twice. Now, Diego Sanchez is set to make his bare-knuckle boxing debut at 41 years of age against a younger, former world-champion boxer.
Diego Sanchez confident ahead of BKFC Knucklemania 3
As confident as ever, Diego Sanchez participated in an interview with Middle Easy’s Mike Owens ahead of his BKFC debut. He shared many intriguing things regarding his expectations ahead of the fight and also pointed to a Mike Perry or Nate Diaz matchup for what he would want next after Trout.
“I ain’t stupid. I ain’t tryna box with a world champion boxer,” Sanchez began. “I’m going out there to fight his ass. I’m going out there to put the nightmare on him. Get in his face, and make a big exclamation point on my combat striking career… (I want to) put some damn respect on my name… that’s what I’m going to do on February 17th…”
“If I ain’t got that greatness on my name, then what am I doing all this for?” Diego Sanchez continued. “I never did it for the money. I did it to be a legend. I chased the glory, and I’m still chasing the glory. I got a fight in my hometown in front of my family, in front of my crowd, and at my high altitude.”
“Austin trout is in for the rudest awakening of his life. It is what it is,” Sanchez said. “I ain’t trying to sugarcoat no sh*t for everybody and tell ‘em it’s going to be a great fight. I’m going to go out there and slaughter this man. He’s arrogant, he’s cocky, and he doesn’t understand the concepts and the principles. He doesn’t understand the new dynamics of this new sport. He’s arrogant and thinks that he can take off the gloves and do what he does (normally) in a boxing ring when it’s completely, completely different.”
What are your thoughts on Diego Sanchez’s prediction about the Austin Trout fight?