UFC Ultimate Fighter 1 middleweight winner Diego Sanchez and his coach, Joshua Fabia, have plans that extend beyond the realm of professional MMA.
The first part of that plan is for Sanchez to fight out his UFC contract, which has four fights left on it.
“I got four more left,” Sanchez said on the Real Quick w/Mike Swick podcast (via Danny Segura of MMA Junkie). “I signed my last contract with the UFC, and I’m going to ride these last four fights out, and I’m done. … I can see the end of the tunnel, but I’m not afraid of it anymore. For so many years, I used to be like, ‘No, I’m not going to even think about that. I’m not going to think about retirement.’ I remember when I was 27 I was like, ‘OK, when I’m 37 years old, I’m going to look at everything and I’m going to see where my health is at. I’m going to see where my money is at and if its time maybe I’ll take a couple more fights.’ Then I hit 37 and I was like, ‘Hey, I feel better at 37 than I did at 27, so I’m going to stick with it. Now its to the point where I’m like, ‘All right, be grateful for what you’ve got and get these last four with your mental health, with your health, and your ability to do other things outside of fighting like be a father.”
Sanchez is back in action at UFC 253, facing Jake Matthews in a welterweight division attraction.
Once his contract has been fulfilled, both Sanchez and coach Joshua Fabia may take up residence in the mountains.
“I’m trying to put my last touches of magic in the UFC, finish out those four last fights," Sanchez said. “But if this is my last fight, it’s my last fight. I don’t know if UFC is going to last, what’s going to happen with the coronavirus or what’s going to happen with the current state that the world is in right now. So you have to be realistic about it and that’s why I say this may be my last fight because I don’t have any plans of getting a vaccine. Me and Joshua (Fabia) are planning on retiring in the mountains in the other side of the city in a safe place. So we’ll see what happens. I’ll never lose hope for humanity, so I just hope we can put it all together and get this (expletive) controlled.”
UFC 253 takes place on Saturday, September 26 from a location to be announced with Israel Adesanya and Paulo Costa headlining. Fightful is providing live coverage of the event, which streams live on ESPN+ pay-per-view.
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