What [autotag]Diego Sanchez[/autotag] does in his post-UFC career is anyone’s guess, but don’t be surprised if “The Ultimate Fighter 1” winner eventually ends up competing in bare-knuckle boxing.
Sanchez, 39, made an appearance Friday at a Bare Knuckle FC press conference in Miami. After hyping Saturday’s BKFC 18 event, Sanchez addressed the possibility of competing in bare-knuckle.
“If I ever get into the BKB, yeah, it would be fun,” Sanchez said. “I never really liked the gloves in the UFC anyway. So, I think it’s better. You got to pick your shots. You got to be smarter. We got to probably do a boxing fight first, warm these hands up. We’re going to see. We’re going to keep everything open.”
Working in favor of a future move to BKFC for Sanchez is the fact that he has a good relationship with promotion president David Feldman.
“I like Dave, and Dave’s a good man,” Sanchez said. “He flew me out here, and it ain’t the first time he’s flown me out. Dave’s a solid guy, and I appreciate that.”
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Since it was founded in 2018, it’s been common for BKFC to sign MMA fighters with name value to its roster – Thiago Alves, Jason Knight, Artem Lobov, and Hector Lombard among them. Former UFC fighters Paige VanZant and Rachael Ostovich will headline BKFC 19 on July 23.
Wherever Sanchez competes next, it’ll be his first fight outside of the UFC in more than 16 years. Sanchez was released by the UFC in late April after his coach and manager, Josh Fabia, got into a dispute with promotion officials over his medical records.
Following a weeks-long saga involving the controversial Fabia, Sanchez parted ways with him professionally last month.
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