Jake Matthews and Diego Sanchez at UFC 253 on Sept. 27, 2020, in Abu Dhabi | Zuffa LLC
Diego Sanchez may have been at less than 100 percent in his most recent fight.
A veteran of 32 UFC fights, Sanchez’s most recent appearance for the promotion saw him drop a one-sided decision to Jake Matthews at UFC 253 in Abu Dhabi this past Saturday. The New Mexico native released a statement on Thursday addressing the circumstances around the loss, which includes a claim that he fought Matthews with “a torn labrum.”
View this post on InstagramA post shared by Diego Sanchez (@diegonightmaresanchezufc) on Oct 1, 2020 at 1:45pm PDT
“Warriors don’t always win, they do however always survive,” Sanchez wrote. “I took a fight on the other side of the world on a month’s notice, fought my fourth primed 26-year-old out of the last five opponents. With a torn labrum in my left him. I positively pressed the fight with a streaking 5-1 welterweight prospect.
Sanchez added that he spoke to UFC President Dana White following the fight and that he heard “not one negative word, only respect and love.” He wrote that he is getting stem cell treatment to address his injury, but otherwise did not go into detail regarding its severity.
In his last three fights, Sanchez has suffered two decision losses sandwiched around a disqualification win over Michel Pereira in a bout that Pereira was winning before he landed an illegal knee. Prior to that, Sanchez scored consecutive upset wins against Mickey Gall and Craig White.
Sanchez, 38, holds a 19-13 record in the UFC and a 30-13 record overall.
See Sanchez’s full, unedited statement below:
Warriors don’t always win they do however always survive! I took a fight on the other side of the world on a months notice, fought my fourth primed 26 year old out of the last five opponents. With a torn labrum in my left hip! I positively pressed the fight with a streaking 5-1 welterweight prospect. Had a face to face with @danawhite with not one negative word only respect and love. I might have some haters but that’s only a accurate identification of successfulness. Made it my 36 trip to the octagon. Today I will get treatment on my torn labrum @utahstemcells @jon_anik was incorrect during fight commentary as he credited stem cell for helping me in between fights. This is my first partnership with a stem cell facility and am very excited to see how this treatment can help extend my longevity. #thestoriesofstoriescontinues