Filed under: UFC
Give Diego Sanchez the chance to talk about where he’s been and where he’s going, and if he’s in the mood, he’ll rip open a vein and bleed out nearly every detail he can remember, whether thrilling or depressing. The 29-year-old has been a UFC regular for nearly six years, and he’s experienced both the highs and lows of athletic competition during his run in the organization, from winning season one of The Ultimate Fighter and later becoming the lightweight No. 1 contender, to getting stopped for the first time in his career.
He’s equally open about his life outside of the cage, including partying too much, being scammed out of nearly $200,000 and making bad decisions that affected his career.
Sanchez, however, is ready to close the door on his past mistakes while embracing his past successes. Most notably, after a 3-year-plus absence, he returned to the trainer that helped build him: Greg Jackson.
On Thursday, Sanchez faces Martin Kampmann in the main event of UFC on Versus 3 with the belief that his ship is righted.