Tag: Joshua Fabia

Diego Sanchez’s cornerman, Joshua Fabia, is wondering why no one is giving him any credit. Sanchez has made headlines as of late, seemingly for all the wrong reasons. “The Nightmare” has been criticized for choosing Fabia as his lone cornerman. Highly respected figures in the MMA community such as UFC color commentator Joe Rogan and […]

The post Joshua Fabia Takes Credit For Changing Diego Sanchez’s Style appeared first on MMA News.

Fight veteran Diego
Sanchez has been much talked about over the past two weeks. The 40-year-old
welterweight and his controversial coach Joshua Fabia have been consistently making
headlines before and after UFC Rio Rancho on 15 February.

The Ultimate Fighter season one winner received widespread condemnation for opting not to fight on after receiving an illegal knee during his bout against Michel Pereira. The co-main event ultimately ended in a third round DQ victory for Sanchez who was most likely two rounds down on the judge’s scorecards.

Fabia was also in the firing line for the advice he was giving Sanchez between rounds and during the fight. An entire transcript was written up of his corner work at UFC Rio Rancho and ridiculed online. Many continued to question his coaching credentials, but Sanchez insisted he’ll be sticking by his trainer when speaking to MMA Junkie, he said.

“I could
address that very easily. Joshua is my brother, my mentor, my guide, my
manager, my trainer.

“This has been the most disrespectful that my fans and the masses of the MMA community have addressed me in my career – just throwing all the hits and all the traumas that I took in the 16 years in the UFC. All this trauma that I took, I paid the price for the experience to make my own decisions in what is best for me going forward.

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“I have always been different than everybody else and maybe that’s why I’ve lasted so long, alright. I continue to thrive in a special, unique, unorthodox approach that has led me to Joshua. And what he’s done for me, how this side of mixed martial arts is amazing, and you really should look into it and become aware of that.”

After
20-years in the game Sanchez insists he isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. He
also says fans should trust he knows what he’s doing with these unorthodox
training methods.

“I don’t
look like I’m going anywhere,” Sanchez said. “I’m speaking healthy, and this is
more than a fighting career because Diego Sanchez – the UFC fighter, the
identity – that’s been done and dead. I am Diego Sanchez, the human being now.

“And so now
that I step into this part of my purpose in life, understand that I’m making
these decisions, I’m thinking about this. I’m putting my heart, my mind, my
daughter, and my mother and father – the three people that I have to take care
of. I’m doing everything in the best of my ability, in the best way that I can
for my future. And that includes standing up to the bullies who were taking
advantage of me and not treating me correctly.

Sanchez confirmed discussions about his next fight are already on-going although he didn’t reveal any potential dates or opponents.

“That’s a private meeting, so I’ll keep it very limited to – I’m moving forward, I am healthy, and I’m excited to do what I do,” Sanchez said. “I do this very passionately. I do love it. I am truly not fighting for only money and for all my retirement. No, I love being this person and having this voice to speak right now and have my fans listen. Just know that I’m healthy and my spirit is strong and I’m not going anywhere. I’m holding on.”

Is Diego Sanchez right to stick by his controversial coach Joshua Fabia?

Joshua Fabia,
the coach of UFC veteran Diego Sanchez has been heaping praise on his fighter
after his DQ win over Michel Pereira at UFC Rio Rancho.

The 38-year-old previously of JacksonWink dropped his long-time training team during fight week at UFC 239. On the night of his fight, Sanchez had only Fabia working his corner. He would go on to take a dominant decision loss against top contender Michael Chiesa.

Since appointing Fabia as his head coach, Sanchez has come under some criticism from the MMA community for his choice of trainer. The Ultimate Fighter season one winner was on the receiving end of some unusual instructions during his last fight. Fabia’s corner work was transcribed, published and then ridiculed online, forcing Sanchez to speak out in defence of his coach.

Fabia appears to have put his foot in it again whilst discussing his fighters’ abilities with Luke Thomas. The charismatic coach claimed Sanchez has the same level of defence as legendary boxer Floyd Mayweather, he said.

“I’ll give you the critique on it, just like
everybody talking that s**t about Diego just running at his opponent. Listen
crazies, you guys are kind of like, slow it down and recognize what you’re
seeing. He was loaded to go through a flying knee, and in that moment, in the
speed of that, he recognized it was definitely going to be unhealthy to do
that. And he smothered it, had no damage, and bounced off.

“Like again, if you watch the video on Diego Sanchez’s IGTV, you will see he blocks, evades like it’s Mayweather level. It’s McGregor level. Clearly, why even McGregor, the only one with enough fight IQ to see the power in what was really happening there. Also, the only person to study movement outside of the box of ‘MMA I know everything established community. This is what is going on here man.” (Transcribed by BJPENN.com)

Do you think Diego Sanchez has Floyd Mayweather level defence?