Attribute Diego Sanchez's decline to the following in percent: Age, evolution of the sport, coaching

Moral Victory

Moral Victory

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Age and wear & tear goes together.

Which do you think is more relevant?

Also here's an interview with him and Anthony Smith, and another one with Anthony Smith and Laura Sanko discussing that interview.


 
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Everything you mentioned in the title. The crazy part is Diego was still decent when he had Fabia in his corner. Imagine if he had a real trainer with a real camp.
 
Diego was a good wrestler with high school level wrestling, that really had good BJJ. It's like Jake Shields without the grappling IQ.

I honestly think this is the case of the sport moving past him. Kinda like Tito. They had good wrestling for their day, but it's nothing to speak of at the rate of high level wrestlers coming into MMA.

Tito wouldn't be competitive right now. Nor Would Diego be.
 
Evolution/age. Skillet never improved and what he had diminished
 
Age/wear and undoubtedly coaching. Diego wasn't always exactly the most technical fighter and into his late years he never developed that veteran skill set to keep him competitive against decent fighters. I think of guys like Wanderlei who refined their defense and patience to protect their Chins but Diego is essentially a gym hopper now( not that I think Jackson wink was necessarily doing him any favors either) and I think it's hampered his growth into a durable veteran.

He's had brutal Beatdowns and knockouts that certainly won't age well.
 
Moral Victory said:
Which do you think is more relevant?

Also here's an interview with him and Anthony Smith, and another one with Anothny Smith and Laura Sanko discussing that interview.


Click to expand...

Poor fuckyou Diego. Don't blame Dana, He does't work for fighters, he works for fans and his shareholders, period. To Dana, people like Diego are disposable inventories. Diego and the rest of the fighters need to hedge themselves by always having a "Plan B". A fighter's pro life is very very short. Smart fighters always jump at the right time and switch to new opportunities while they are still young.
 
Age: 80%
Evolution: 0%
Coaching: 20%

Those numbers shouldn't underestimate how bad Diego's coaching is though.
 
50 age/miles, 30 evolution, 20 coaches split seems about right. The dude was mentally/physically very tough which is his strongest attribute, but his IQ level just doesn't put the ceiling that high to evolve or be coachable.
 
Diego is Diego; he's always been quirky and weird. So I could never weigh coaching as a heavy factor.

To determine how much of his decline is down to age and how much is down to the sport's evolution, let's look at two things: 1) how would beastly 2005-2008 Diego do in today's UFC assuming he was training new techniques? and 2) how would punching bag Diego 2020 do in 2005-2008? The answer to question 1 is that he'd look like a natural fighter, with big heart, but not necessarily the best athlete or the most technical; well rounded but not strong enough in any one area to be a top fighter. The answer to question 2 is that he'd be a slower and less durable version of his past self. I personally think current Diego does better in 2005-2008 than 2005-2008 Diego would do today. But I'm not confident, and I don't think there's much in it.

So, I'd say 55% evolution, 40% age, 5% coaching.
 
Age 25% / evolution 10% / coaching 25%
*CTE and or mental illness 40%
 
Can’t teach an old dog new tricks, his style was insanely outdated and awful for modern standards
 
Natural craziness and mental issues: 25%
Aging, physical decline, injuries, concussions: 50%
Shit coaching, Fabia buttsecks and bad influences: 20%
Excess cartwheels: 5%

90% of the game is half CTE, don’t forget that.
 
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It's not age. 0% age. Yes, he's old now, but when his decline started he was still in his late twenties.

Diego's famous win over Guida in 2009 was the highpoint of his career, and he went on a rough skid after that. Since he lost his title fight with BJ Penn, Diego is 9-10, and he's pretty much been alternating wins and losses (with a few two fight win and two fight loss streaks thrown in). I think it should also be noted that several of those wins were surprisingly bad decision robberies, including Kampmann, Gomi, and Pearson. Take away bad judging and I only think Diego won one fight after Guida in 2009 until he beat Jim Miller in 2016.

I think his problem has been mainly in the coaching/training realm. He's bounced around different gyms and he's bounced between four different weight classes. He seems to need more from his coaches than other fighters. They can't just teach him BJJ or how to throw a jab, they've also got to be a shoulder to cry on and an emotional support, and they need to help him manage his crazy. He hasn't seemed to refine his skills or add a lot of new tools to his arsenal.
 
IngaVovchanchyn said:
It's not age. 0% age. Yes, he's old now, but when his decline started he was still in his late twenties.
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this is a great example of how interpretation of the question changes the answer.

you and i both agree Diego's decline started long before 2 years ago. but i attribution his decline mostly to age (wear and tear, etc) and you said 0%.

i guess you're interpreting the question as limited solely to his recent crazy. and if that were how i read the question, i would agree with you.
 
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