Diego Sanchez says he’s ‘free at last’ from UFC, tags Bellator, ONE, BKFC, more in post

Very little about the news Diego Sanchez was out of his next UFC fight seemed like a normal fight withdrawal.

That news came Wednesday when it was revealed Sanchez (30-13 MMA, 19-13 UFC) was out of his welterweight co-main event against former teammate Donald Cerrone (36-15-1 MMA, 23-12-1 UFC) at UFC on ESPN 24 on May 8.

Thursday, Sanchez posted on his Instagram stories that he was “free at last” and tagged Bellator, ONE Championship, BKFC and others – implying he no longer is with the UFC and is a free agent.

UFC officials have not officially announced Sanchez is out of the fight, or if he’s a free agent, and did not immediately return a request from MMA Junkie for comment.

Those who follow Sanchez on social media, though, may have seen some things brewing between the longtime UFC fighter and the promotion and president Dana White.

Not long before Sanchez was out of the bout, he posted an online gripe from October 2020, when he says he and his team were left stranded at the airport in Las Vegas after flying home from his UFC 253 loss to Jake Matthews. Everyone else on the flight back to the States from “Fight Island” in Abu Dhabi got their rides from the airport, but the Sanchez team, including coach Joshua Fabia, were left behind.

And Thursday, perhaps portending his apparent free agency announcement, Sanchez posted two lengthy videos from UFC 253 showing Fabia and Sanchez confronting, of all people, the UFC’s broadcast crew over Sanchez’s treatment on previous broadcasts.

Sanchez, under what many have inferred is under Fabia’s guidance, has grown increasingly hostile toward the UFC and his treatment. The 39-year-old started his MMA career in 2002 and never has lost more than two straight fights.

He won the first season of “The Ultimate Fighter” at middleweight, then dropped to welterweight, where his wins included one over Nick Diaz. Eventually, he made his way to lightweight, where he fought B.J. Penn for the title in 2009.

Over the years, Sanchez became known perhaps just as much for the demeanor he exhibited through lengthy and odd-to-some open workout sessions, walks to the cage that included a “YES! YES!” mantra, and his often zen-like mentality in interviews as he was for his never-quit spirit in the cage.

And once he hooked up with Fabia, the storyline seemed to shift to be as much about his work with the coach as it was about his performances in the cage. That reared its head again Thursday when Sanchez released videos of Fabia ranting at the UFC 253 broadcast team in Abu Dhabi.

Prior to his loss to Matthews this past October, Sanchez had a controversial disqualification win over Michel Pereira in front of his home fans in February 2020. He took an illegal knee in the third round, and it appeared to critics that his decision to not continue in the fight was based on his knowledge that the knee was illegal and the fight was in the third round and would be a win for him and not a no contest.