Diego Sanchez
I was thankful for the fight with Kampmann. I was thankful for the cuts, I was thankful because I found something inside of my heart that I knew was there, but I had never tapped into it. I found this warrior's spirit, an old school warrior within me.Collection: Thankful
Never stop, never give up, never stop giving yourself the self-confidence you need to be a champion.
Always learn, adapt and evolve.
It's been a long road for me, with a lot of ups and downs. Thankfully there have been more ups than there have been downs. For me, what brings me down has only made me stronger because of it.
Pressure is the way a predator fights.
I train six to seven hours during the three separate sessions every day while in camp.
I blew through all my money and made some very bad decisions. I had this scam artist scam me real bad and was embezzled over $175,000.
I'm not the old guy, I'm the Jedi.
I love motorcycles and riding bikes.
I feel like I always knew fighting was what I wanted to do. But when I was 18, I got into a street fight with this football player. He was a big guy and three years older than me. I really kicked his butt, and I realized I had a talent for this and needed to pursue it.
I've never been crazy when it comes to controlling my diet. I just avoid processed foods, don't mix carbs and make sure I get my protein. I'm a carnivore. I love my wild game and especially my buffalo meat.
Even the best guys in the sport have losses on their record, and Myles Jury, I just feel like he's coming up into that reality check with me.
I remember what it's like, when I was 19-0, going on that awesome streak, feeling invincible. But it's like you eventually run into reality.
Michael Chiesa has written me off as many other men have written me off. As the Vegas oddsmakers have written me off, as the UFC has time and time again and time again written me off. As they have written me off to not be the Ultimate Fighter winner.
I have been written off my whole career.
For me, if there is one fight I could have, it's Conor McGregor. I'll go fight him in Ireland. He wants to fight in a football stadium? I'll fight him in a football stadium. When he jumped into the spot, he started barking up the wrong dog's alley. I'm one of the guys who laid the bricks for this great career that he is having.
I was one of the ones that created the expansion for the sport.
For a long time, I was living my life my way and not God's way. I wasn't living it by his rules, I was living it by my own rules. And that didn't get me anywhere. I got to the point where I had no hope.
Go big or go home.' I used to say that. I was addicted to that. The lifestyle, the fame. The girls. The parties. And with that came a lot of people who didn't really care about me. They were just leeches. Just very bad people. I had to learn a lot. I was very gullible.
I trusted the wrong person with finances and the guy ended up breaking my bank. I lost my money in Ponzi schemes. If it wasn't enough to be wasting a lot of it, one of my best friends totally done me dirty and wiped me out.
I don't need no Tony Robbins. I don't need no chi. I've got the blood of Jesus Christ flowing in my veins.
When I shadowbox, I go hard.
In MMA you have to take one fight at a time but I want BJ Penn. The fans want to see it and, while I'll fight whoever the UFC tells me to, I want a shot at BJ.
Headlining a UFC card is what I have always wanted.
I have always walked around at 170lbs and fought at 170lbs.
The nightmare? The nightmare was myself. I was my own nightmare.
I feel like I'm a legend continuing to be a legend!
I was sparring with Dan Christison, a big heavyweight. I threw a leg kick and broke my fibula. Before the Florian training camp.
Ain't no fans, or anybody else's say so when I'm going to step away from the sport. Except my own.
I know people think I'm just the Diego Sanchez from the Gilbert Melendez fight. Hook, hook, hook. A crazy brawler. But I realized the best possible fighter would not get hit. He'd close the distance and minimize the chances of the lights going out. I want to fight as long as I can and be as healthy as I can.
In my wrestling days, bulimia was very, very prevalent.
My first dream was to fight here in New Mexico, Albuquerque, my home town. My second dream is to fight in Mexico City.
I believe that when you put your energy into your emotions, it takes away from the energy that you can put into your physical, your mental, performance in a fight.
I look back on people who are not the average, and those people are not the average because they choose to put it in their mind that they are not the average.
We didn't do training in grappling for Chiesa; I was about to put the hands on him, put the elbows on him, put the knees on him, put the hurt on him the way I'd trained for.
If I ever get into the BKB, yeah, it would be fun. 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.
To be a champion in the UFC, you have to be an elite, high-level, effective, professional kickboxer. You have to be the best of the best on your feet.
I'm done being some brawler.
I want to earn my top spot in UFC.
I will always be prepared for the ground. That's my home, that's where my success started. That's always going to be my biggest strength. But all fights start on the feet; I'm prepared to slug on the feet.
A lot of UFC fighters dream of getting in there and finishing a fight in the first round.
I had, in a way, become 'The Nightmare' in the cage, but also out of the cage. That's why I changed to 'The Dream.' But 'The Nightmare,' is who I am as a fighter and that's the way it's going to stay. I'll be a nightmare inside the cage and a dream outside of it.
When I fought Kampmann, something happened in that fight and to me, it's still the most epic moment in my career. I was losing and something happened and I flipped a switch.
The B.J. Penn fight was the first one where I ever took damage. I got caught coming in. I got hit hard and I never recovered. He picked me apart the rest of the fight. After that, I still didn't take any damage until I fought Martin Kampmann.
I'm not fighting for bonuses or money or anything else. I fight because I love to fight and I love being in the heat of the battle and the heat of the moment. You might laugh at me when I say this, but I love feeling like I gave the fans their money's worth.
McGregor is a huge 145-pounder with long reach and is taller than his opponents - and that's something that I've always wanted.
You can see the love I have for the sport. Blood, cuts, scars... I love fighting. I'm going to do it for as long as I can.
When it's time to hang up the gloves, I'll know.
I feel like the octagon has been my life.
After watching Benson Henderson's performance against Gilbert Melendez, I must say, I wasn't impressed.