Diego Sanchez walked into the cage at UFC on ESPN+ 25 with just a single cornermen following in support – School of Self-Awareness founder Joshua Fabia.
Fabia has recently assumed the role of trainer and manager for Sanchez, the longtime Jackson Wink MMA fighter and winner of “The Ultimate Fighter 1,” and he’s been in the New Mexican’s corner for each of his past two fights.
At Saturday’s event, Fabia’s contributions came into question when UFC commentator and longtime MMA coach Trevor Wittman admitted he was a bit perplexed at what he heard between rounds. After the first frame, as the ESPN+ broadcast returned from commercial, Wittman said he found the cornerwork to be “very strange.”
“Listening to that last corner work was very strange,” Wittman said. “I mean, there was – I don’t know if it’s code or what, but he’s talking about being ‘tight’ and ‘sticky’ and keep the movement but don’t keep the movement. Like, I just – like, this is – I’ve known Diego a long period of time. This is just strange to me.”
Fabia complete directions were caught on camera, and you can read a transcription of his advice following the first round. below
Five recovery breaths. Five recovery breaths. Sip the water. Do your thing. Good. Five recovery breaths. In the nose, out the mouth. Listen carefully. Listen carefully – you are stopping your motion. Do not wait to see your work. I need forward, forward pressure. I need you to get off the line before you attack – off the line before you attack. V drill. V drill Think of the shadow, shadow. I need you to get in, OK? Get in, get behind. If it gets tight, gets sticky, take him to the ground. Get on top. Give me some ride time. Give me some ground and pound.
Wittman, along with fellow commentators Brendan Fitzgerald and former UFC double champ Daniel Cormier, questioned the gameplan in place for Sanchez, as well as the lack of adjustments being made on the fly. Known for a dangerous wrestling-based attack, Sanchez elected to stand and trade with the much larger and much flashier Pereira.
As the second round came to a close, all three judges had Sanchez down 20-18 on the cards. Fabia had it scored a bit differently, and he told Sanchez the score was even heading into the final round.
Listen to me. You need to go, all right? You need to go. I need to see you go swinging. You know why? Because you’ve got nothing to lose now. He just won that round with that throw. You had the other round on points, on contact. All right? So you’ve got to get a takedown. You’ve got to hold him down. You’ve got to work this mother(expletive) over. You hear me You’ve got to do your (expletive) job. Get to work. All right? Quit acting like you don’t know how to do it. Do not let him trigger you.
When asked, Wittman understandably disagreed.
“Oh, he didn’t win the first round,” Wittman said flatly. “The thing, is give him some – he needs some technical advice on how does he close the gap, what does he need to do. Yes, we know his go-to. He’s got to wrestle, but give him some technical stuff. I just feel like what’s going on tonight, watching this is crazy. It’s crazy to me.”
Pereira would continue to dominate the action in the third, as well, but an illegal knee to a downed Sanchez left “The Nightmare” unable to continue. Due to the infraction, referee Jason Herzog awarded Sanchez the win via disqualification at the 3:09 mark of the final frame.
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Audio: Listen to 'strange' corner advice Diego Sanchez received at UFC Rio Rancho
