Somewhere in the range of ten years ago now (really?!) I remember having conversations with my guitar teacher about MMA fights. Wayne was a guy that looked kind of like Willie Nelson and instilled in me the importance of varying techniques and how utilizing too many effects or “gimmicks” meant that you were out of ideas. To the day, I’ve felt guilty every time that I step on my wah pedal. This being said, he was really into Diego Sanchez and thought that Diego was going to be one of the biggest stars in the UFC whenever he got there. There was a lot of pride involved when Diego got a slot on The Ultimate Fighter and we had weekly conversations about this stuff. A part of me wonders if he is disappointed in Diego Sanchez’s career, which has really fallen short of expectations, or if he even watches MMA anymore. Probably not.
When I moved to Albuquerque I finally met Diego Sanchez while scoping out Jackson’s MMA to see if I wanted to train there. Needless to say, he was kind of rude and I was unimpressed, if not nonplussed.
Diego Sanchez has always been outspoken and has lots of opinions that he likes to share with the world. His latest is that Benson Henderson’s performance against Gilbert Melendez was not impressive and that he saw many holes in his game. This is coming from Diego Sanchez, the guy who missed weight in his last outing at Lightweight and squeaked out a split decision over Takanori Gomi. Takanori Gomi in 2013. It is safe to say that Sanchez is nowhere near another title shot just yet, but with some of that hard work and dedication he might get a shot at Benson Henderson, but until then, he can just talk about these theoretical holes.
Not everyone can Chael themselves into a title fight.