Diego Sanchez Interview
Apr 1, 2007 16:15:18 GMT -5
Post by LWPD on Apr 1, 2007 16:15:18 GMT -5
I know what you may be thinking...but Diego is a top level fighter and he's here to see. He has an insatiable belief in himself and his 'destiny' which drives him to give everything he has and attempt to finish every fight from bell to bell...every single fight he's in is entertaining to watch...and he's won them all against top notch competition. Now he's training stand up with Oscar De La Hoya...and I'm pumped to see his grudge rematch against young standout Josh Koschek. Should be another great fight...and the smack talk helps sell the show.
Courtesy of CBS Sports Byline
The Fringe: An interview with Diego 'The Nightmare' Sanchez
Denny Burkholder
By Denny Burkholder
CBS SportsLine.com Staff Writer
Diego "The Nightmare" Sanchez is focused on Josh Koscheck.
He ought to be. Every time Sanchez steps into the Octagon, he puts his perfect MMA record (17-0 overall, 6-0 UFC) on the line. He risks moving backward in the line for a UFC welterweight title shot. He risks losing the momentum he's gained from beating every guy UFC has placed in his path since he won the first season of The Ultimate Fighter in 2005.
All of those risks are present for Diego Sanchez as he prepares for UFC 69 in Houston on April 7, where Sanchez will fight Koscheck, his former TUF1 training partner. But there's an even bigger issue underscoring this particular fight.
Sanchez and Koscheck really, really dislike each other. For one of them, a loss at UFC 69 will bruise their ego and empower their hated rival all at once.
In this candid interview, Diego Sanchez describes how the rift developed between himself and Josh Koscheck, and responds to some of the accusations Koscheck made about his family in another recent CBS SportsLine interview. Sanchez also discusses Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta's purchase of Pride Fighting Championships, what it means to him personally, and his prospects for a UFC title shot.
Q. You're undefeated right now, and I know you plan to stay that way. Do you feel any pressure with that?
DS: Oh yeah, there's plenty of pressure that comes with being undefeated. This is a question that gets asked of me a lot, actually. I'm looking at the big picture, and the big picture is creating a legacy and fulfilling my dream of being (an) undefeated champion, and doing stuff that other men have not been able to do in MMA, you know. Just like "The Natural" Randy Couture, you know, going in there and beating Tim Sylvia for the heavyweight title. Stuff like that, you know. Randy is never gonna be forgotten.
Also, the way I think -- the way I feel -- being undefeated is special, and I want to stay like that. The pressure is always going to be increasing every fight, but ... you know, it's always going to be the same. I'm always going in there for war, to battle, and just trusting in god that I've trained harder and that I'm a more skilled athlete than my opponent, and I've got more heart. If I've got that on my side, then I shouldn't have to worry. I should be able to go in there and get that W.
Q. After your last fight with Joe Riggs, and after a lot of your fights, you seem like you almost meditate. Can you describe what you're doing there?
DS: Yeah. The thing is, when I'm going out to that ring, sometimes the crowd puts off this energy. It's different sometimes, but you know, sometimes the energy is just so awesome that you can feel it. So me, as another energy form, I just try to absorb that energy and let the fans be one with me, and let them guide me and make me stronger. I'm just soaking in that energy and putting that into my fighting ability.
Q. Tell me about Josh Koscheck, your opponent coming up at UFC 69.
DS: What do I think of him?
Q. Yeah.
DS: I think he's a competitor. He's a great wrestler. A very strong athlete. Do I think he's a tough guy? I don't really think he's that tough. I think he's a good athlete and he has a lot of athletic ability. He comes to compete. I believe he comes to compete and to win, but he doesn't come to fight. That's the difference between me and him. I'm a warrior and he's an athlete. When you get a warrior and an athlete, one's looking to win, and the other is looking to kill. I'm going in there to put him to sleep.
Q. We interviewed Koscheck recently, and he said that you guys got along OK on The Ultimate Fighter TV show, but after the show, there became some hard feelings between the two of you. Do you concur with that?
DS: Yeah, we did. We got along great on the show, actually. I slept in the same room as him, and we talked, and we were buddies. We were training partners for 12 weeks. Then, you know, I went in there and they made us do the whole fight each other thing. We fought each other and I came out on top. The fight was a tough fight, you know. I ain't gonna make excuses. But he likes to make excuses that he was inexperienced. I was going through a lot of things then too, you know. I was sick in that fight. I was injured.
After the fight, he told me he wanted to fight me again. He has this weird, jealous, envy-attitude energy towards me, so whatever, you know. I ain't holding it against him. I told him from the start, you know, work your way up to me and (we'll) fight again. And this time you're not going to get lucky at the end, saved by the bell.
Q. Also in this interview, Koscheck made an accusation. I want to give you a chance to respond to it. He said that after a UFC Fight Night in San Diego, your brother approached him in a bar and said "Look into my eyes and tell me you don't know who I am," and was trying to instigate a fight with him. Do you know anything about that?
DS: Yeah, of course I do. We were in the same bar, and you know, me and him, we obviously got beef. He knows my cousin personally also, and what was between them is between them. He was talking a lot of s*** about me. My family is a very passionate family, you know. They're going to look you in your eyes and tell you straight up. So I don't doubt it at all, what went down.
Im gonna get it settled right now in the ring. (That's) about as far as it goes with me and Koscheck, you know. We don't like each other. It's a personal fight. And personally, I like a personal fight. The last one that I had was with Nick Diaz, and it's funner. You've got something there that means more than just sport. It's passion. I'm a passionate fighter, and I like that.
Q. I have a direct quote from his interview, talking about you. He said, "I don't like him, I don't like any of his family, I don't like anything to do with him -- anything. I can't stand him."
DS: You know, it all comes down to him being jealous. Jealous, you know, because I am everything that he wants to be. I'm an exciting fighter. I've gone in there, I've put it on the line. I've put performances on like fight of the year in 2006 with Karo Parisyan, who was number five in the world, and I upset him in dominating fashion. And then I went in there and fought Joe Riggs, and got a knockout. You know, exactly what he (Koscheck) wants to do.
Obviously I won The Ultimate Fighter. That's what he wanted to do. Everything I'm doing, he wishes he was doing. So yeah, he's jealous, and obviously we don't get along. It makes for a good fight, and I'm glad he feels that way, because maybe now he's gonna come in there and fight with me, and really get it on, because that's what I like.
I'm like a pitbull, you know. I fight 'til I'm done. You get me in that cage and you lock that door, and that's why my nickname is "The Nightmare." Because I don't stop coming, and I'm gonna be right in front of you. I'm a warrior. I'm a warrior more than I am a fighter, and that's what I am at heart. And Josh Koscheck ... Josh Koscheck's got another thing coming when we step into that ring. I'm sure he's worked very hard, but I've worked very hard also. But I feel I have something he doesn't have. It's inner toughness and heart. That comes from years and years of growing up where I grew up, fighting from day one.
Josh Koscheck, he came out and told me at that house, he told me, you know, he told me, "I ain't never been in a street fight in my life." I said, "Oh yeah. (It) figures." He's a wrestler. He ain't a fighter. He can learn, he can learn, but he can't learn how to scrap, you know. He can't learn how to take a punch. And I'll tell you right now: You watch his fights. He doesn't like to get hit. When I get hit, I come back, and I come back with fire.
Q. That actually leads me to my next question. He told us that he actually thinks that striking is your weakness. He said, I quote, "I hope he does really, really think he can stand up, because if that's the case, then he's gonna go to sleep." How do you respond to that?
DS: I've got people backing me up that know I can strike. I've got professional boxers living at my house. I've got Oscar De La Hoya vouching for me, you know, that I have the capability to stand. So Josh Koscheck can think whatever he wants to think. I'm over here in New Mexico, and I'm banging with Keith Jardine, Joey Villasenor, Nate Marquardt. I've got Rashad Evans here at my camp, you know. I've got guys here that are bigger, stronger, and hit harder than Koscheck, and I hold my own.
First off, I'm not afraid. I've never been afraid to strike and I've never been afraid to get hit. It's just that in some of my fights in the past, it's just been smarter to not strike with some guys. Ask Karo Parisyan if I punch hard, you know. He had a broken face from one uppercut. Ask Joe Riggs, when he never got knocked out, if I punch hard, and he'll tell you "S***, man, I don't know what happened." That's what's gonna happen with Josh Koscheck. He's not gonna know what happened. He's gonna wake up, and the way I look at it, you know, if Josh Koscheck wants to keep it standing, he's gonna get knocked out. If Josh Koscheck wants to take me down, he's going to get submitted. So, you know, wherever he takes the fight, I'm ready to just take it to him.
If he does take me down, he better be ready, because I'm going to be coming at him with sweeps and submissions, and striking from the bottom, and getting back up. I'm gonna be ruthless. Everybody knows that the first round is my warm-up round, second round I start to feel better, and the third round, that's when the beast comes out. That's when I smile across the ring, and I'm happy. I'm at home. That's where I'm the most natural, and my instinct kicks in, and nothing else, you know. It's an animal instinct. And the animal instinct is what's gonna be the difference between me and Koscheck.
Q. A couple more questions. The Pride FC sale, where the Fertittas bought Pride -- do you have any comments on that, and any potential matchups that you could see coming out of that for yourself?
DS: You know, I'm just so happy about Pride being purchased by the Fertittas. I think that now, we're going to have true world champions. I'm just excited to find out what the rule differences are gonna be, and who they're gonna bring. Obviously, their top welterweight just got beat by Nick Diaz, who I already beat. So I don't know. I think probably the toughest guy would be (Hayato) Sakurai. Besides him, I don't know. I ain't going nowhere. I'm staying at 170 pounds, unless they make a 165-pound division, because I ain't cutting no lower than 165 pounds.
(In) all the other weight classes, you know there's gonna be great matches, like Fedor (Emelianenko) and Couture, and (Chuck) Liddell and Shogun (Mauricio Rua). As for my weight class, you know, I think that UFC totally dominates at 170.
Q. A lot of MMA fans think that it's time for you to get a title shot. After the Koscheck fight, if you win, how long do you anticipate waiting for one?
DS: I don't know what's going to happen. I'm just going to leave that up to the Fertittas and UFC, and Dana White, and Joe Silva, and then figure out from there what they want me to do. First of all, GSP (UFC welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre) has got to get past (Matt) Serra, and everybody is looking past Serra. So I don't know; I don't know what's gonna happen in that fight. Of course, GSP is gonna be a huge favorite, but you can't count Matt Serra out. And I think, with that in mind, who knows what could happen? You know, if Serra wins, maybe I might (get a fight with) Serra. If GSP wins, I know Matt Hughes has an automatic (rematch) clause with GSP. So I don't know what's gonna happen after that.
If Matt Hughes already has an automatic rematch clause with Georges St. Pierre, I don't know where that throws me in the mix. So I'll be ready to fight whoever, whenever. Whoever they put in front of me. But right now, Koscheck was the number one guy that I wanted to fight, because he's got a mouth on him, and he's been talking trash ever since I beat him. And you know what? I don't like him either. And we're gonna get it on.
You know, this guy's been asking for me, and I already know this guy's second-guessing himself. And when it goes down, and when they lock that door, and he sees me across the ring from him, that's when he's going to be second-guessing himself, and wondering "Oh man, what did I get myself into?"
Courtesy of CBS Sports Byline
The Fringe: An interview with Diego 'The Nightmare' Sanchez
Denny Burkholder
By Denny Burkholder
CBS SportsLine.com Staff Writer
Diego "The Nightmare" Sanchez is focused on Josh Koscheck.
He ought to be. Every time Sanchez steps into the Octagon, he puts his perfect MMA record (17-0 overall, 6-0 UFC) on the line. He risks moving backward in the line for a UFC welterweight title shot. He risks losing the momentum he's gained from beating every guy UFC has placed in his path since he won the first season of The Ultimate Fighter in 2005.
All of those risks are present for Diego Sanchez as he prepares for UFC 69 in Houston on April 7, where Sanchez will fight Koscheck, his former TUF1 training partner. But there's an even bigger issue underscoring this particular fight.
Sanchez and Koscheck really, really dislike each other. For one of them, a loss at UFC 69 will bruise their ego and empower their hated rival all at once.
In this candid interview, Diego Sanchez describes how the rift developed between himself and Josh Koscheck, and responds to some of the accusations Koscheck made about his family in another recent CBS SportsLine interview. Sanchez also discusses Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta's purchase of Pride Fighting Championships, what it means to him personally, and his prospects for a UFC title shot.
Q. You're undefeated right now, and I know you plan to stay that way. Do you feel any pressure with that?
DS: Oh yeah, there's plenty of pressure that comes with being undefeated. This is a question that gets asked of me a lot, actually. I'm looking at the big picture, and the big picture is creating a legacy and fulfilling my dream of being (an) undefeated champion, and doing stuff that other men have not been able to do in MMA, you know. Just like "The Natural" Randy Couture, you know, going in there and beating Tim Sylvia for the heavyweight title. Stuff like that, you know. Randy is never gonna be forgotten.
Also, the way I think -- the way I feel -- being undefeated is special, and I want to stay like that. The pressure is always going to be increasing every fight, but ... you know, it's always going to be the same. I'm always going in there for war, to battle, and just trusting in god that I've trained harder and that I'm a more skilled athlete than my opponent, and I've got more heart. If I've got that on my side, then I shouldn't have to worry. I should be able to go in there and get that W.
Q. After your last fight with Joe Riggs, and after a lot of your fights, you seem like you almost meditate. Can you describe what you're doing there?
DS: Yeah. The thing is, when I'm going out to that ring, sometimes the crowd puts off this energy. It's different sometimes, but you know, sometimes the energy is just so awesome that you can feel it. So me, as another energy form, I just try to absorb that energy and let the fans be one with me, and let them guide me and make me stronger. I'm just soaking in that energy and putting that into my fighting ability.
Q. Tell me about Josh Koscheck, your opponent coming up at UFC 69.
DS: What do I think of him?
Q. Yeah.
DS: I think he's a competitor. He's a great wrestler. A very strong athlete. Do I think he's a tough guy? I don't really think he's that tough. I think he's a good athlete and he has a lot of athletic ability. He comes to compete. I believe he comes to compete and to win, but he doesn't come to fight. That's the difference between me and him. I'm a warrior and he's an athlete. When you get a warrior and an athlete, one's looking to win, and the other is looking to kill. I'm going in there to put him to sleep.
Q. We interviewed Koscheck recently, and he said that you guys got along OK on The Ultimate Fighter TV show, but after the show, there became some hard feelings between the two of you. Do you concur with that?
DS: Yeah, we did. We got along great on the show, actually. I slept in the same room as him, and we talked, and we were buddies. We were training partners for 12 weeks. Then, you know, I went in there and they made us do the whole fight each other thing. We fought each other and I came out on top. The fight was a tough fight, you know. I ain't gonna make excuses. But he likes to make excuses that he was inexperienced. I was going through a lot of things then too, you know. I was sick in that fight. I was injured.
After the fight, he told me he wanted to fight me again. He has this weird, jealous, envy-attitude energy towards me, so whatever, you know. I ain't holding it against him. I told him from the start, you know, work your way up to me and (we'll) fight again. And this time you're not going to get lucky at the end, saved by the bell.
Q. Also in this interview, Koscheck made an accusation. I want to give you a chance to respond to it. He said that after a UFC Fight Night in San Diego, your brother approached him in a bar and said "Look into my eyes and tell me you don't know who I am," and was trying to instigate a fight with him. Do you know anything about that?
DS: Yeah, of course I do. We were in the same bar, and you know, me and him, we obviously got beef. He knows my cousin personally also, and what was between them is between them. He was talking a lot of s*** about me. My family is a very passionate family, you know. They're going to look you in your eyes and tell you straight up. So I don't doubt it at all, what went down.
Im gonna get it settled right now in the ring. (That's) about as far as it goes with me and Koscheck, you know. We don't like each other. It's a personal fight. And personally, I like a personal fight. The last one that I had was with Nick Diaz, and it's funner. You've got something there that means more than just sport. It's passion. I'm a passionate fighter, and I like that.
Q. I have a direct quote from his interview, talking about you. He said, "I don't like him, I don't like any of his family, I don't like anything to do with him -- anything. I can't stand him."
DS: You know, it all comes down to him being jealous. Jealous, you know, because I am everything that he wants to be. I'm an exciting fighter. I've gone in there, I've put it on the line. I've put performances on like fight of the year in 2006 with Karo Parisyan, who was number five in the world, and I upset him in dominating fashion. And then I went in there and fought Joe Riggs, and got a knockout. You know, exactly what he (Koscheck) wants to do.
Obviously I won The Ultimate Fighter. That's what he wanted to do. Everything I'm doing, he wishes he was doing. So yeah, he's jealous, and obviously we don't get along. It makes for a good fight, and I'm glad he feels that way, because maybe now he's gonna come in there and fight with me, and really get it on, because that's what I like.
I'm like a pitbull, you know. I fight 'til I'm done. You get me in that cage and you lock that door, and that's why my nickname is "The Nightmare." Because I don't stop coming, and I'm gonna be right in front of you. I'm a warrior. I'm a warrior more than I am a fighter, and that's what I am at heart. And Josh Koscheck ... Josh Koscheck's got another thing coming when we step into that ring. I'm sure he's worked very hard, but I've worked very hard also. But I feel I have something he doesn't have. It's inner toughness and heart. That comes from years and years of growing up where I grew up, fighting from day one.
Josh Koscheck, he came out and told me at that house, he told me, you know, he told me, "I ain't never been in a street fight in my life." I said, "Oh yeah. (It) figures." He's a wrestler. He ain't a fighter. He can learn, he can learn, but he can't learn how to scrap, you know. He can't learn how to take a punch. And I'll tell you right now: You watch his fights. He doesn't like to get hit. When I get hit, I come back, and I come back with fire.
Q. That actually leads me to my next question. He told us that he actually thinks that striking is your weakness. He said, I quote, "I hope he does really, really think he can stand up, because if that's the case, then he's gonna go to sleep." How do you respond to that?
DS: I've got people backing me up that know I can strike. I've got professional boxers living at my house. I've got Oscar De La Hoya vouching for me, you know, that I have the capability to stand. So Josh Koscheck can think whatever he wants to think. I'm over here in New Mexico, and I'm banging with Keith Jardine, Joey Villasenor, Nate Marquardt. I've got Rashad Evans here at my camp, you know. I've got guys here that are bigger, stronger, and hit harder than Koscheck, and I hold my own.
First off, I'm not afraid. I've never been afraid to strike and I've never been afraid to get hit. It's just that in some of my fights in the past, it's just been smarter to not strike with some guys. Ask Karo Parisyan if I punch hard, you know. He had a broken face from one uppercut. Ask Joe Riggs, when he never got knocked out, if I punch hard, and he'll tell you "S***, man, I don't know what happened." That's what's gonna happen with Josh Koscheck. He's not gonna know what happened. He's gonna wake up, and the way I look at it, you know, if Josh Koscheck wants to keep it standing, he's gonna get knocked out. If Josh Koscheck wants to take me down, he's going to get submitted. So, you know, wherever he takes the fight, I'm ready to just take it to him.
If he does take me down, he better be ready, because I'm going to be coming at him with sweeps and submissions, and striking from the bottom, and getting back up. I'm gonna be ruthless. Everybody knows that the first round is my warm-up round, second round I start to feel better, and the third round, that's when the beast comes out. That's when I smile across the ring, and I'm happy. I'm at home. That's where I'm the most natural, and my instinct kicks in, and nothing else, you know. It's an animal instinct. And the animal instinct is what's gonna be the difference between me and Koscheck.
Q. A couple more questions. The Pride FC sale, where the Fertittas bought Pride -- do you have any comments on that, and any potential matchups that you could see coming out of that for yourself?
DS: You know, I'm just so happy about Pride being purchased by the Fertittas. I think that now, we're going to have true world champions. I'm just excited to find out what the rule differences are gonna be, and who they're gonna bring. Obviously, their top welterweight just got beat by Nick Diaz, who I already beat. So I don't know. I think probably the toughest guy would be (Hayato) Sakurai. Besides him, I don't know. I ain't going nowhere. I'm staying at 170 pounds, unless they make a 165-pound division, because I ain't cutting no lower than 165 pounds.
(In) all the other weight classes, you know there's gonna be great matches, like Fedor (Emelianenko) and Couture, and (Chuck) Liddell and Shogun (Mauricio Rua). As for my weight class, you know, I think that UFC totally dominates at 170.
Q. A lot of MMA fans think that it's time for you to get a title shot. After the Koscheck fight, if you win, how long do you anticipate waiting for one?
DS: I don't know what's going to happen. I'm just going to leave that up to the Fertittas and UFC, and Dana White, and Joe Silva, and then figure out from there what they want me to do. First of all, GSP (UFC welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre) has got to get past (Matt) Serra, and everybody is looking past Serra. So I don't know; I don't know what's gonna happen in that fight. Of course, GSP is gonna be a huge favorite, but you can't count Matt Serra out. And I think, with that in mind, who knows what could happen? You know, if Serra wins, maybe I might (get a fight with) Serra. If GSP wins, I know Matt Hughes has an automatic (rematch) clause with GSP. So I don't know what's gonna happen after that.
If Matt Hughes already has an automatic rematch clause with Georges St. Pierre, I don't know where that throws me in the mix. So I'll be ready to fight whoever, whenever. Whoever they put in front of me. But right now, Koscheck was the number one guy that I wanted to fight, because he's got a mouth on him, and he's been talking trash ever since I beat him. And you know what? I don't like him either. And we're gonna get it on.
You know, this guy's been asking for me, and I already know this guy's second-guessing himself. And when it goes down, and when they lock that door, and he sees me across the ring from him, that's when he's going to be second-guessing himself, and wondering "Oh man, what did I get myself into?"
IPPON!!