Diego Sanchez Reveals Joshua Fabia Was 'Masterminding' Potential Settlement Against The UFC

Mandatory Credit: Mike Roach - Zuffa LLC

Former UFC lightweight champion and The Ultimate Fighter 1 victor, Diego 'The Nightmare' Sanchez has claimed that former head coach, School of Self Awareness guru, Joshua Fabia was "masterminding" a potential financial settlement against Sanchez's past employers, in a bid to secure 50% of any potential financial return.

Sanchez, now an alum of the UFC following a lengthy 16-year stay under the Dana White-led promotional banner, was slated to meet with former Jackson-Wink MMA teammate, Donald 'Cowboy' Cerrone in a billed retirement fight at UFC Vegas 26 in May, until Sanchez and Fabia leaked a conversation with UFC Chief Business Officer and lawyer, Hunter Campbell in which the latter expressed his concern for Sanchez's well-being. 

During the conversation, in which Campbell enquired why Fabia had requested UFC officials to obtain all of Sanchez's medical history during his entire stint with the organization, Campbell maintained that he would not allow Sanchez to compete if he was not 100 percent healthy.

Upon request from Campbell, Fabia as well as Sanchez's attorney were asked to provide medical clarification that Sanchez was not experiencing any health issues as a result of competing in professional mixed martial arts. When this request was not carried out, Sanchez was pulled from his fight with Cerrone and subsequently handed his release from the UFC.

Following the emergence of numerous questionable training methods implemented by the controversial Fabia, one in particular which displayed Sanchez hanging inverted, whilst blindfolded, while Fabia punched him repeatedly in the head and body, as well as throwing round kicks toward his head.

Amid an outpouring of concern from the mixed martial arts community as well as called for Sanchez to disband his professional relationship with Fabia, the Albuquerque native confirmed that he had parted ways with the controversial guru. 

In the time since, UFC president, White has remained coy regarding the possibility of allowing Sanchez to return to the organization in order to carry out his retirement from professional mixed martial arts. The New Mexico native is also reportedly in negotiations to sign with the David Feldman-led, BKFC (Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship) upon completion of medical tests and screenings. 

Speaking during a recent Instagram live session, Sanchez, a UFC Hall of Fame inductee revealed that Fabia had masterminded an attempt to bring a potential financial settlement against the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

"I trained my ass off for (Donald) 'Cowboy' Cerrone," Sanchez said. "I was ready to get in there and go to war, because that was going to be my last fight, my big last hurrah in the UFC. Man, I put everything into that training camp. I was ready to go and I passed all my medicals, I passed everything -- I did MRI, MRA, they did everything. I'm perfectly fine. And the reason why it ended the way it did with (the) UFC, that has other implications, that's other stuff. That's Joshua Fabia and f*cking with the medicals and just pushing all the wrong buttons at the UFC, working his ass off to get whatever was best for his intentions, not what was best for Diego Sanchez."

"I believe my mentor was guiding me in what was best for him," Sanchez continued. "And what was best for him was to try to figure out a way to get a settlement with the UFC. He knew that if there was a major settlement with the UFC, that I was going to hook him up with half because it was all his idea, it was all his plan. He was masterminding everything. And I made the mistake of following a mentor that I thought had a stronger connection to God than me." (H/T MMA Fighting)

Over the course of his storied professional mixed martial arts career which began back in June 2002, Sanchez, the inaugural victor of The Ultimate Fighter and a former lightweight title challenger, has bested the likes of Kenny Florian, Nick Diaz, Karo Parisyan, Joe Riggs, Joe Stevenson, Clay Guida, Paulo Thiago, Martin Kampmann, Takanori Gomi, Ross Pearson, Jim Miller, Mickey Gall, and Michel Pereira.