No, Diego Sanchez has not announced his retirement YET but I think many fans are calling for it; I know I am. Diego has been one of my favorite fighters to watch and I've been a fan of his since I saw his very first TUF fight. I know some fans may not have followed his career as long or as closely so I will cover it as briefly as I can with an emphasis on how good he was and how great he should have been and why it's now time to retire.
Diego has long been one of the most entertaining and unique fighters inside the ring and outside the ring dating back to when most of us first heard of Diego Sanchez and that was during the original The Ultimate Fighter. He was the yoga pacticing, zen-like fighter who just came off quirky if not flat out weird. But once Diego got in the octagon, there was no denying the young fighter's heart, tenacity, and skill. Diegowould go on to win TUF 1 over Kenny Florian.
Diego's star took off and with that, so did the notoriety of Greg Jackson has a head coach. It was really the fighter in Diego that helped bring Greg Jackson into the lightlight. At TUF 2 season finale, Diego Sanchez would put on a grappling clinic with fellow grappler, Nick Diaz. Diego was still a white belt in BJJ at the time while Nick was a purple belt. (Diego would get his blue belt two years later in 2007...coincidentally, 2007 was also the year Nick Diaz received his black belt) The bout is arguably the most exciting grappling-based fights in UFC history and still holds up today, 10 years later.
He would go on to have three more exciting fights against John Alessio, Kary Parysian, and Joe Riggs securing the Riggs victory a long right hook followed by a vicious flying knee.
At this point in Diego's career, he proved that he was as excellent fighter as he was eccentric. The personality he showed on TUF was really him and his skills continued to grow at an alarming rate. His wrestle heavy, wrestle/grapple first and strike second style was truly exciting to watch and captivated fans as his undefeated record grew to 17-0, being 6-0 in the UFC. There was a belief that it was only a matter of time before Diego would take on Matt Hughes and possibly even become the champion of the world at 170lbs although GSP would show the world at the end of 2006 that he was the next great WW champion.
This is where I want to elaborate more on the Diego Sanchez. At the beginning of 2007, Diego Sanchez was basically on top fo the world, not to mention dating the "it" ring girl at the time, Ali Sonoma as well. Diego was ranked #4 in the world by nearly all MMA publications only behind champ GSP, Matt Hughes, and BJ Penn. Look at those names, read them and let them sink in for a little bit. GSP....Matt Hughes...and BJ PENN. Diego was ranked right behind BJ Penn and was one fight away from a world title fight against GSP. Much like BJ, Diego was a true 155lber who fought at 170 because "he didn't enjoy cutting weight".
That next fight would be against Josh Koschek with the winner fighting GSP. Diego would go into the fight with a really bad, undiagnosed staph infection that was thought to have been hepatitis C which almost got the bout cancelled. Diego would fight an uneventful fight and lose to Koschek marking the first blemish in his career and two days later, would end up in a hospital with a hole the size of a small teacup in his knee.
This was really the changing point in Diego's career. He just had his first loss and made the decision to leave Jackson's camp as well. At that point, Diego was still a grappler first but after the Riggs KO, Diego made it known that he fell in love with the KO and wanted to evolve into a striker and believe he could. So Diego not only left Jackson behind (although it could be argued the other way around), he also left his bread and butter behind in sights of being a striking/KO machine.
From here on out, Diego would go on to have the same exciting matches but he was know a striker first and grappled only when necessary. It was clear to most that Diego was not a natural strike Diego continued on this path going 5-1 in his next 6 fights after Koschek before meeting BJ Penn for the 155lb title. Right before this was Diego's frenetic brawl against Clay Guida which cemented, in Diego's mind, his Mexican fighting warrior spirit. When he stated this, I knew there was no going back and any chances of Diego Sanchez going back to being a top heavy, wrestler first fighter was gone and likely was his chances of every becoming a champion. Diego would go on to lose to BJ Penn via TKO for the first time in his career and continued this trend of chasing KOs while losing every other fight, statistically.
After the Penn fight, where Diego had gone 21-3, he would lose 7 of his next 13 fights with his latest to Raging Al. At this point, Diego has lost 8 of his last 14 fights, losing three by T/KO and has suffered far too many strikes to the head over those past 14 fights. He has taken an insane amount of damage and it's in his best interest to retire now for the chances of him being a top 5 fighter, let alone a contender, is long gone. His saving grace was his iron chin which, with every fighter, goes away with age. A full on head kick from BJ couldn't KO Sanchez but it's no longer true.
As I write this and as other read this, I can't help but think of the what ifs, the what could have been, especially had he stayed with Jackson, if he never left, if he kept his grapple heavy, grapple first style and did not fall in love with the KO or the "Mexican warrior spirit". As noted above, at one point, Diego was ranked 4th in the UFC just behind GSP, Hughes, and Penn.
It's absurd to think but it's true; Diego Sanchez has achieved so much yet when he retires, he will have underachieved due to the change in his style. With that said, whether it was his early grappling first days or his latter swing for the fences wars, Diego will leave the UFC the same way he came in; arguably the most intense, unique, quirky and weird fighter we've ever seen.
Diego has long been one of the most entertaining and unique fighters inside the ring and outside the ring dating back to when most of us first heard of Diego Sanchez and that was during the original The Ultimate Fighter. He was the yoga pacticing, zen-like fighter who just came off quirky if not flat out weird. But once Diego got in the octagon, there was no denying the young fighter's heart, tenacity, and skill. Diegowould go on to win TUF 1 over Kenny Florian.
Diego's star took off and with that, so did the notoriety of Greg Jackson has a head coach. It was really the fighter in Diego that helped bring Greg Jackson into the lightlight. At TUF 2 season finale, Diego Sanchez would put on a grappling clinic with fellow grappler, Nick Diaz. Diego was still a white belt in BJJ at the time while Nick was a purple belt. (Diego would get his blue belt two years later in 2007...coincidentally, 2007 was also the year Nick Diaz received his black belt) The bout is arguably the most exciting grappling-based fights in UFC history and still holds up today, 10 years later.
He would go on to have three more exciting fights against John Alessio, Kary Parysian, and Joe Riggs securing the Riggs victory a long right hook followed by a vicious flying knee.
At this point in Diego's career, he proved that he was as excellent fighter as he was eccentric. The personality he showed on TUF was really him and his skills continued to grow at an alarming rate. His wrestle heavy, wrestle/grapple first and strike second style was truly exciting to watch and captivated fans as his undefeated record grew to 17-0, being 6-0 in the UFC. There was a belief that it was only a matter of time before Diego would take on Matt Hughes and possibly even become the champion of the world at 170lbs although GSP would show the world at the end of 2006 that he was the next great WW champion.
This is where I want to elaborate more on the Diego Sanchez. At the beginning of 2007, Diego Sanchez was basically on top fo the world, not to mention dating the "it" ring girl at the time, Ali Sonoma as well. Diego was ranked #4 in the world by nearly all MMA publications only behind champ GSP, Matt Hughes, and BJ Penn. Look at those names, read them and let them sink in for a little bit. GSP....Matt Hughes...and BJ PENN. Diego was ranked right behind BJ Penn and was one fight away from a world title fight against GSP. Much like BJ, Diego was a true 155lber who fought at 170 because "he didn't enjoy cutting weight".
That next fight would be against Josh Koschek with the winner fighting GSP. Diego would go into the fight with a really bad, undiagnosed staph infection that was thought to have been hepatitis C which almost got the bout cancelled. Diego would fight an uneventful fight and lose to Koschek marking the first blemish in his career and two days later, would end up in a hospital with a hole the size of a small teacup in his knee.
This was really the changing point in Diego's career. He just had his first loss and made the decision to leave Jackson's camp as well. At that point, Diego was still a grappler first but after the Riggs KO, Diego made it known that he fell in love with the KO and wanted to evolve into a striker and believe he could. So Diego not only left Jackson behind (although it could be argued the other way around), he also left his bread and butter behind in sights of being a striking/KO machine.
From here on out, Diego would go on to have the same exciting matches but he was know a striker first and grappled only when necessary. It was clear to most that Diego was not a natural strike Diego continued on this path going 5-1 in his next 6 fights after Koschek before meeting BJ Penn for the 155lb title. Right before this was Diego's frenetic brawl against Clay Guida which cemented, in Diego's mind, his Mexican fighting warrior spirit. When he stated this, I knew there was no going back and any chances of Diego Sanchez going back to being a top heavy, wrestler first fighter was gone and likely was his chances of every becoming a champion. Diego would go on to lose to BJ Penn via TKO for the first time in his career and continued this trend of chasing KOs while losing every other fight, statistically.
After the Penn fight, where Diego had gone 21-3, he would lose 7 of his next 13 fights with his latest to Raging Al. At this point, Diego has lost 8 of his last 14 fights, losing three by T/KO and has suffered far too many strikes to the head over those past 14 fights. He has taken an insane amount of damage and it's in his best interest to retire now for the chances of him being a top 5 fighter, let alone a contender, is long gone. His saving grace was his iron chin which, with every fighter, goes away with age. A full on head kick from BJ couldn't KO Sanchez but it's no longer true.
As I write this and as other read this, I can't help but think of the what ifs, the what could have been, especially had he stayed with Jackson, if he never left, if he kept his grapple heavy, grapple first style and did not fall in love with the KO or the "Mexican warrior spirit". As noted above, at one point, Diego was ranked 4th in the UFC just behind GSP, Hughes, and Penn.
It's absurd to think but it's true; Diego Sanchez has achieved so much yet when he retires, he will have underachieved due to the change in his style. With that said, whether it was his early grappling first days or his latter swing for the fences wars, Diego will leave the UFC the same way he came in; arguably the most intense, unique, quirky and weird fighter we've ever seen.
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