Diego Sanchez: 5 Memorable Moments
A Character Emerges
UFC Live 3 “Sanchez vs. Kampmann”
March 3, 2011 -- Louisville, Ky.
In the weeks leading up to his scrap with Martin Kampmann, Sanchez talked about finding motivation from the movie “Rocky” to fuel his workouts. The reference seemed about as clichéd as any in the fight game, but after “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 1 winner had his hand raised in the Octagon that night, it seemed darn near prophetic.
Much like Rocky Balboa in the movies, Sanchez’s face seemed to have lost a battle with a steamroller, while his Danish opponent looked relatively unscathed. Outward appearances mattered little in the end, as all three judges scored the bout 29-28 in favor of the New Mexican, much to the dismay of the audience at the KFC Yum! Center.
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The scoring of the bout did not sit well with everyone, but there was little question regarding the size of Sanchez’s heart after the fight. In round one, he took a beating from Kampmann’s technical striking. A straight right hand sent Sanchez to the canvas, and the Jackson’s Mixed Martial Arts representative was bleeding from the mouth and nose by the end of the round. According to FightMetric.com, Kampmann had landed 32 significant strikes to Sanchez’s 10.
The next 10 minutes were a tribute to “The Dream’s” tenacity: he
pressed forward with reckless abandon and managed to battle the
Dane to a virtual draw on the feet. Meanwhile, Sanchez remained
doggedly persistent in his pursuit of the takedown, even as each of
his first 13 tries were stuffed. Finally, in the later moments of
the third stanza, Sanchez got Kampmann to the canvas, a potentially
tide-turning moment in the eyes of the judges.
“I knew I would score points with that takedown,” Sanchez said. “I thought I won that fight by putting on the pressure and controlling the end of the fight.”
It was as if you could almost hear “The Eye of the Tiger” playing in the background as the battered victor spoke.
“The Ultimate Fighter 1” Finale
April 9, 2005 -- Las Vegas
Forrest Griffin and Stephan Bonnar usually get most of the credit for driving the UFC toward mainstream acceptance with their epic slugfest, and deservedly so, but Sanchez also played a role in shaping the landscape of MMA as we know it. The fight itself, where a larger, stronger Sanchez quickly imposed his will to earn a first-round technical knockout over Florian, is not necessarily a standalone moment, but his success helped accelerate the rise to prominence of Jackson’s MMA.
Sanchez quickly became one of the more offbeat characters during the airing of “The Ultimate Fighter.” He was both spiritual and ferocious, practicing yoga and ground-and-pound with equal aplomb. One memorable scene from the program occurred when Sanchez meditated during a thunderstorm in an apparent attempt to harness its power.
In Albuquerque, N.M., it was a big deal to see Sanchez on TV. Residents might have recalled Sanchez winning a state wrestling championship at Del Norte High School, while area fight fans might remember some of his victories in local King of the Cage bouts. Jackson’s dojo was hardly a secret in the southwestern city, but it was not yet a name brand associated with national success. Before it moved to its current location and Jackson officially became partners with Mike Winkeljohn, Sanchez referred to the gym as “our little hole-in-the-wall dojo.”
“My favorite memory was our grappling tournament trips to Las Vegas and California. We used to go out there and kick butt,” Sanchez told the Albuquerque Journal in 2009.
Now, kicking butt and Jackson’s are synonymous to more than just residents of New Mexico. After Sanchez’s stint on “The Ultimate Fighter,” teammate Keith Jardine appeared on Season 2 of the show. He befriended Rashad Evans and convinced the future light heavyweight champion to hold his camp in Albuquerque. Pretty soon, many more top-notch fighters made it a point to get in contact with Jackson. Sanchez, by winning a reality show that began as a Hail Mary idea from UFC brass, certainly did his part to put it on the map.
Josh
Koscheck File Photo
Koscheck was a serious speed bump.
UFC 69 “Shootout”
April 7, 2007 -- Houston
Ever since he helped hose down a slumbering Chris Leben on Season 1 of “The Ultimate Fighter,” Josh Koscheck has been one of the UFC’s most despised villains, and, apparently, the excitable Sanchez -- his housemate on that initial series -- felt the same way about “Kos” as many fans did.
Fighting at 185 pounds on the reality show, Sanchez grinded out a split decision over the decorated NCAA national champion wrestler. Though their rematch at the Toyota Center turned out to be somewhat anticlimactic, the prefight venom spewed between the two men leading up to the fight generated plenty of hype.
Sanchez allegedly got the trash talk started with a post on Koscheck’s MySpace page, calling his future opponent a “blanket” and telling him to bring some “balls” to their showdown.
An interview with Koscheck on CBS Sportsline.com revealed a few previous run-ins with Sanchez and his family, as well. The first came after UFC Fight Night 7 in San Diego, where he recalled meeting Sanchez’s brother, who introduced himself in what Koscheck referred to as a “weird, psycho voice.”
Koscheck said he also encountered Sanchez at the Palms Casino Resort swimming pool, where he said an intoxicated Sanchez and some family members “tried to start a fight with me and my managers.”
“I don’t like anything to do with him -- anything. I can’t stand him,” Koscheck said in the interview.
The feeling proved to be mutual at the UFC 69 weigh-ins, as Sanchez shoved Koscheck during their mandatory faceoff, prompting UFC commentator Joe Rogan to blurt, “Oh s---.”
Far fewer fireworks occurred once the two men got inside the Octagon, as Koscheck managed to get the better of Sanchez on the feet to take a tepid unanimous decision. The usually relentless New Mexican was uncharacteristically lethargic throughout the contest. It was later revealed that Sanchez fought while suffering from a staph infection, which likely explains why he did not attempt a takedown during the fight. It was the first loss of Sanchez’s career, and it -- along with a subsequent defeat to Jon Fitch -- likely set the stage for his move to 155 pounds.
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