Dana White: Diego Sanchez Nearly Retired Prior to UFC 69
MMA Junkie
May 25, 2007
With today's UFC 71 weigh-ins, I can't help but remember the infamous weigh-in events from UFC 69 last month in Houston.
The day before a much-publicized main-card bout bout between The Ultimate Fighter 1 cast mates and (now bitter rivals) Josh Koscheck and Diego Sanchez, Houston fight fans got a preview of just how real the hatred was.
With a tiny stage and Sanchez's temper boiling over, the usually-calm Sanchez shoved Koscheck. Sanchez tripped over the scale and fell backward, and as Koscheck stated, only UFC announcer Bruce Buffer's quick reflexes kept him from flying off the stage.
The incident - which can be relived through a UFCjunkie.com YouTube video - had nearly everyone excited for the following day's actual fight. Unfortunately, all the pre-event hijinks overshadowed what eventually became a lopsided and perhaps unspectacular unanimous-decision win for Koscheck. As I've stated before, he won the fight more with brains than braun and implemented a seemingly fool-proof plan.
Although Koscheck took the brunt of the criticism, Sanchez was far more inactive than his opponent. However, according to UFC president Dana White, there was a perfectly reasonable explanation for Sanchez's sluggish performance.
During yesterday's conference call with media members, White said that the organization actually planned to announce Sanchez's retirement from the sport during the UFC 69 weigh-ins. Early tests indicated that the 25-year-old was suffering from Hepatitis C, a blood-borne, infectious, viral disease that often tears down a person's liver.
Before the fight, though, subsequent tests suggested otherwise.
As White explained:
Sanchez woke up the day after the fight and had a hole in his thigh "the size of a coffee cup," according to White.
Despite the seriousness of the problem, White said he expects Sanchez back in the UFC soon and looks forward to his fight.
Even with the recent defeat, the now 17-1 fighter (6-1 in the UFC) remains one of the welterweight division's top contenders. Sanchez is also one of the organization's most marketable fighters and could become a key centerpiece to the UFC's move into the Southwest and Mexico.
White recently stated that the UFC would put on a show in Mexico in early to mid-summer 2008.
MMA Junkie
May 25, 2007
With today's UFC 71 weigh-ins, I can't help but remember the infamous weigh-in events from UFC 69 last month in Houston.
The day before a much-publicized main-card bout bout between The Ultimate Fighter 1 cast mates and (now bitter rivals) Josh Koscheck and Diego Sanchez, Houston fight fans got a preview of just how real the hatred was.
With a tiny stage and Sanchez's temper boiling over, the usually-calm Sanchez shoved Koscheck. Sanchez tripped over the scale and fell backward, and as Koscheck stated, only UFC announcer Bruce Buffer's quick reflexes kept him from flying off the stage.
The incident - which can be relived through a UFCjunkie.com YouTube video - had nearly everyone excited for the following day's actual fight. Unfortunately, all the pre-event hijinks overshadowed what eventually became a lopsided and perhaps unspectacular unanimous-decision win for Koscheck. As I've stated before, he won the fight more with brains than braun and implemented a seemingly fool-proof plan.
Although Koscheck took the brunt of the criticism, Sanchez was far more inactive than his opponent. However, according to UFC president Dana White, there was a perfectly reasonable explanation for Sanchez's sluggish performance.
During yesterday's conference call with media members, White said that the organization actually planned to announce Sanchez's retirement from the sport during the UFC 69 weigh-ins. Early tests indicated that the 25-year-old was suffering from Hepatitis C, a blood-borne, infectious, viral disease that often tears down a person's liver.
Before the fight, though, subsequent tests suggested otherwise.
As White explained:
"We kept testing him. The doctors were baffled. They eventually decided that he doesn't have Hep C, but they didn't know what was wrong with him, so he goes in and fights that sh-y, horrible fight."Soon, though, they learned what the problem was: a serious staph infection.
Sanchez woke up the day after the fight and had a hole in his thigh "the size of a coffee cup," according to White.
Despite the seriousness of the problem, White said he expects Sanchez back in the UFC soon and looks forward to his fight.
Even with the recent defeat, the now 17-1 fighter (6-1 in the UFC) remains one of the welterweight division's top contenders. Sanchez is also one of the organization's most marketable fighters and could become a key centerpiece to the UFC's move into the Southwest and Mexico.
White recently stated that the UFC would put on a show in Mexico in early to mid-summer 2008.
