“We got to probably do a boxing fight first, warm these hands up. We’re going to see. We’re going to keep everything open.”
Could UFC veteran Diego Sanchez’s next stop be Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship?
‘The Nightmare’ recently attended a BKFC press conference in Miami, Fla. to promote Saturday night’s BKFC 18 event at Hard Rock Stadium and, while he didn’t give anything away regarding his next fight, The Ultimate Fighter 1 winner teased of a move to bare-knuckle boxing following his release from the UFC earlier this year.
“If I ever get into the BKB, yeah, it would be fun,” Sanchez said at Friday’s pre-fight press conference (h/t Simon Samano of MMA Junkie). “I never really liked the gloves in the UFC anyway. So, I think it’s better. You got to pick your shots. You got to be smarter. We got to probably do a boxing fight first, warm these hands up. We’re going to see. We’re going to keep everything open.”
Sanchez, 39, appears to have a good working relationship with fight promoter David Feldman and thanked the BKFC president for flying him out to Miami to watch BKFC 18.
“I like Dave, and Dave’s a good man,” he said. “He flew me out here, and it ain’t the first time he’s flown me out. Dave’s a solid guy, and I appreciate that.”
BKFC has added several ex-UFC fighters to its roster since its 2018 launch, with the bare-knuckle fight promotion signing the likes of Artem Lobov, Jason Knight, Thiago Alves, and Hector Lombard. Former UFC flyweights Paige VanZant and Rachael Ostovich will headline the next BKFC event on July 23, with both women facing off at yesterday’s press conference.
Sanchez parted ways with the UFC in April after an illustrious 16-year career. The former UFC lightweight title challenger also recently dropped self-proclaimed life guru Joshua Fabia following weeks of speculation as to Sanchez’ safety.