James Krause is not only a professional MMA fighter, but also a trainer of other fighters, and he believes that Fabia is manipulating Sanchez.
“There’s a couple of different routes I could go,” Krause told MMA Junkie. “I feel like the two routes are like fighting some legends of this sport. A couple of names come to mind like Diego Sanchez, Carlos Condit. I have a thing for Diego for some reason. I can’t stand his coach (Joshua Fabia). I feel like they’re selling wolf tickets to the sport of MMA, to the fans of MMA. Just some of that stuff, that guy says is ridiculous to me. I just can’t seem to get behind it, and I think he’s got Diego manipulated, and I think – I’m not a fan of the man. You have to put some real work into this sport to become a coach of a high-level athlete, and I feel like this guy has short-cut that and hasn’t done those things.”
Fabia has been accused of using odd training methods in the past, including chasing fighters around inside of a cage with a sharp object.
Krause also believes that Fabia’s methods, both with coaching and motivation, are holding Sanchez back.
“There’s a difference between a motivator and a coach,” Krause said. “If you need motivation to fight at this level, you’re probably not in the right place. Is he a good motivator? I’m not sure, maybe he is. At the end of the day, it takes more than motivation to win at this level, and I just think he’s a master manipulator, and he’s got somebody like Diego, who’s got some real skills, and I think he’s holding him back because of it. And there’s no shortcuts in this sport, and it’s really hard for me to respect somebody that tries to shortcut the process to get to the high level especially in coaching, especially coaching high-level athletes.”
The trainer/fighter is open to fighting Sanchez in the future, but he also told MMA Junkie that a top 15 opponent would also suffice.
