Diego Sanchez is gunning for big fights in the last stage of his career — and he couldn’t imagine anything bigger than a bare-knuckle brawl with Nick Diaz.
It’s been over 17 years since Sanchez scored a unanimous decision win over Diaz in the UFC. He’s now a new starter in BKFC and The Ultimate Fighter season 1_ winner would like to get it back with his old rival.
“I asked for the Nick Diaz bout,” Sanchez said to MMA Fighting. “That’s the real bare-knuckle fight I want, is Nick Diaz. I’m pretty sure he’s under his contract with the UFC for probably the rest of his life, so it will probably never happen. Let me just say that Diego Sanchez isn’t scared to tell the fans.
“I want Nick Diaz. I want a money fight. A fight should bring in the crowd. These big fights will be the end of my career. And what better to start than a world-champion boxer in Austin Trout?”
Sanchez faces Trout in the co-main event at BKFC KnuckleMania 3 on Feb. 17 in Albuquerque, N.M. This former UFC champion has big ambitions that go beyond his first fight.
While it seems highly unlikely that the UFC will release Diaz from his contract, the Endeavor-owned promotion previously has given permission for fighters to compete in bare-knuckle bouts. Most notably, Chad Mendes was allowed to fight in BKFC while still under UFC contract.
“Yo Nick Diaz. Respect to you. But, I already whooped my ass in Jiu-jitsu,” Sanchez stated. I raped your sex in wrestling. I whooped your ass in the UFC octagon. You say that you are the Stockton gangster. Don’t worry, gangsters don’t need gloves. Only God gives us what we need to fight. These are just the bare feet.
“You want to come to test who the real gangster is? You can come to [Albuquerque], and join Diego Sanchez in the ring. We’ll make some cash together. We’ll both make a bag and do our thing.”
If Nick Diaz is unavailable, Sanchez sees younger brother Nate Diaz as the best possible alternative. The younger Diaz is a free agent after finishing his UFC contract in 2021.
Nate Diaz teased a few potential fights in the future but, as much as Sanchez would love to see that fight, he does not expect Diaz’s younger brother to take up his challenge.
“Nate will never fight me,” Sanchez declared. He only desires three fights: Conor McGregor or Jake Paul. Or Floyd Mayweather. He don’t want another nightmare. I already beat his bigger brother, and that’s his idol. Nick Diaz is Nate Diaz’s idol and the GOAT to the Nick Diaz army family.
“I’m the guy that beat that guy. He was a Strikeforce world champion and I beat him. I beat him clean, I beat him decisively, and we were all in our prime. All of us were in our youth. We are no longer in our youth. But who has preserved the youth more effectively? Who’s kept the health better? Which one has kept your mind sharper? That’s me. So I don’t think it’s surprising that Nick and Nate wouldn’t ever take on the challenge of Diego Sanchez. They have a huge fan base and I am proud to challenge them as warriors. Diaz army, let’s go.”
Before he can get to either Diaz brother, Sanchez first has to go through Trout, though he confidently predicts a first-round knockout in his first bare-knuckle fight.
” I know I only have so many fights left, but it doesn’t mean that I am exhausted,” Sanchez stated. “It doesn’t mean that I’m out of shape. It doesn’t necessarily mean I am not prepared. This doesn’t mean that I am not mentally capable, sound, or prepared to lead. This is what I intend to do in February 17. Get in there and dominate.”
Source: https://www.mmafighting.com/2023/2/16/23574903/diego-sanchez-wants-nick-diaz-bare-knuckle-fight-open-to-nate-diaz-but-knows-he-will-never-fight-me?rand=96749
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