Diego Sanchez left a lot to be desired in his bare knuckle boxing debut Friday night (Feb. 17, 2023) at BKFC KnuckleMania 3 from inside Tingley Coliseum in Albuquerque, N.M., as the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) legend was bloodied and battered by former WBA Jr. middleweight world champion Austin Trout.
Sanchez hasn’t competed professionally since parting ways with UFC back in Sept. 2020 following a decision loss to welterweight Jake Matthews. “Nightmare” had a brief stopover at Eagle FC, but ended up losing a decision to fellow UFC veteran Kevin Lee in Mar. 2022. He’s been gearing up for a return to combat sports ever since and Friday night was supposed to be his coming out party.
Unfortunately for Sanchez, he met a more skilled and technical puncher. Trout was able to batter Sanchez for the majority of the fight as the former UFC contender plodded forward trying to connect on anything he could. Eventually, Sanchez had absorbed too much damage to an already bloody face and the referee/doctor was forced to step in for the fourth-round TKO stoppage.
Check out the video highlights below:
Here comes the UFC legend, Diego Sanchez.
He’s ready for his BKFC debut. #KnuckleMania3 pic.twitter.com/5pevkgrnr9
— FITE (@FiteTV) February 18, 2023
Here comes the former WBA Jr. Middleweight World Champ, Austin Trout. #KnuckleMania3 pic.twitter.com/qsLJ16wkOp
— FITE (@FiteTV) February 18, 2023
ROUND 1!!! #KnuckleMania3 pic.twitter.com/O4n3hEDP7V
— FITE (@FiteTV) February 18, 2023
Diego is leaking blood! #KnuckleMania3 pic.twitter.com/etH6WT4Gc3
— FITE (@FiteTV) February 18, 2023
Trout wins by doctor stoppage in R4 pic.twitter.com/qPN4aMZTSW
— caposa (@Grabaka_Hitman) February 18, 2023