Diego Sanchez was pieced up and put away by Austin Trout at the BKFC: “KnuckleMania 3” pay-per-view (PPV) event earlier this month in Albuquerque, but insists the fight would have gone differently had “The Nightmare” been able to effectively implement his clinch game.
That’s why Sanchez and his team will be filing a formal appeal with the New Mexico Athletic Commission (NMAC) seeking to overturn the loss, claiming “No Doubt” was violating the bareknuckle rules by greasing up between rounds (more on those accusations here).
Does anyone know where Phil Nurse was last Friday?!?
“We will be filling a formal complaint with the NMAC to reverse the bout,” Sanchez’s representative, Ricky Kottenstette, said in a statement to MMA Fighting. “In a sport where clinching is allowed it 100 percent eliminated his chance at implementing a key strategy in his game plan.”
Sanchez was undoubtedly looking to take a page from the Artem Lobov playbook. “The Russian Hammer” was able to defeat Paulie Malignaggi — a far more accomplished boxer — by utilizing the clinch and a persistent bum rush in their BKFC 6 main event.
We’ll bring you updates on the Sanchez appeal just as soon as they become available.