Diego Sanchez was the subject of quite a bit of criticism after he accepted a disqualification win over Michel Pereira at UFC Rio Rancho last weekend. Amid this criticism, Sanchez has taken the time to give the nod to the people who have supported him. He believes Conor McGregor is one of those people.
Sanchez and Pereira fought in the co-main event of the UFC Rio Rancho card. The bout ended in the third round when Pereira blasted Sanchez with an illegal knee, and Sanchez said he could not continue.
Moments later, McGregor published a Tweet, which has since been deleted, that read: “Conor McGregor vs. Diego Sanchez.”
While it’s not clear if McGregor was actually calling Sanchez out, many fans pointed out that the pair were ever so briefly linked to a fight back in 2014.
Whatever the case, Sanchez sees McGregor’s deleted comment as the words of a “wise man”. Sanchez addressed the Irishman’s Tweet in a lengthy Instagram post on Monday afternoon.
“At least the highest paid top tier fight IQ athlete and legendary champion @thenotoriousmma is not blinded by the smear campaign against me my coach manager and mentor @joshuafabiaknowbody & his company @schoolofselfawareness by the media and others,” Sanchez wrote at the end of his post.
“Thank you @thenotoriousmma you are a wise man too. It’s been 6 years since we put each others names in our destiny,” Sanchez added, referencing his their previous dealings back in 2014.
As Sanchez implies in his post, his choice of coach has also generated some controversy in the wake of UFC Rio Rancho. His coach, Joshua Fabia, has no real martial arts experience, but operates a “school of self-awareness.”
What do you think of this unexpected back and forth between Diego Sanchez and Conor McGregor?
This article first appeared on BJPENN.com on 2/18/2020.