Donald Cerrone had nothing bad to say about Diego Sanchez but rather his controversial coach, Joshua Fabia.
Cerrone was originally slated to face the TUF 1 middleweight winner and former Jackson Wink MMA teammate Sanchez for a welterweight clash at UFC Vegas 26 this Saturday. However, “The Nightmare” was recently cut from the UFC for refusing to sign the document to assure the UFC he was in good health after his coach Fabia had asked for past medical records of Sanchez.
Recently, Sanchez claimed the UFC to be evil and was ‘fearful’ for the safety of his life. He and his coach Joshua Fabia also claimed that the UFC was trying to get out of a liability situation for the damage he had sustained over the 16 years he had been fighting under the UFC promotion.
The drama has grabbed the headlines and has dragged on throughout fight week for the upcoming event in which Cerrone is participating, now to face his new opponent Alex Morono. In the pre-fight press conference, Cerrone was asked to give his opinion on the whole situation to which “Cowboy” believed, like many others, that Sanchez’s coach Fabia has a negative influence on the 16-year UFC veteran, claiming the coach has “took over his life”.
“It’s hard to be mad at (Sanchez) now because I don’t think it’s him guiding the horse,” Cerrone told reporters at the conference on Wednesday. “I think he’s just running blind, and this other jamoke, his new lover, is showing him down the path. I don’t know. Can’t really be mad at the kid, or the old man, I should say. But really it’s his cult leader and lover that took over his life, and I feel bad for you, Diego.”
Cerrone claims to have never met Fabia but told a story of how someone he used to train with, encountered Fabia and ended up in quite a comical, physical altercation with this individual.
“I never have (met him),” Cerrone said. “I never ever have. I know the guy that whipped his ass at the bar. I used to train with the guy, and that kid was talking about his death punch and how he was going to kill the dude, and my buddy whipped his little motherf*cking ass all over the bar. So the death punch did not work. It was unsuccessful. This guy no longer fights, no longer trains. He just said, ‘I’ll beat your ass.’ Then he did. The MMA community in New Mexico had a chuckle over that.”
Whilst the whole Sanchez-Fabia vs. UFC situation has dominated the headlines, Cerrone said that he was happy, Morono was stepping up to fight him.
“I’ve never seen someone get thrown off because they’re crazy,” Cerrone said. “It’s a first for me. But short notice is short notice. I made a career out of (it). Usually I’m the guy filling in, not the other way around, so pretty cool Alex threw his hat in and they picked him.
“You’ve seen people get chopped, so apparently he pissed the wrong people off. It just so happened right before the fight. But I don’t really have anything to say. I was looking forward to fighting (Sanchez).”
Donald Cerrone (36-15)
Cerrone last fought back in September against Niko Price which resulted in a majority draw that was overturned to a no-contest after Price tested positive for marijuana. The 36-year-old is on a downward slope these days having gone five fights without a win in recent years. His last win was against Al Iaquinta back in May 2019.
Competing in MMA since 2006, this will be “Cowboy’s” 54th professional bout and his 36th UFC fight in his long, storied career. Cerrone holds the record for the most wins and finishes in UFC history, (23 wins and 16 finishes). His most notable wins include names such as Charles Oliveira, Edson Barboza, Jim Miller, Eddie Alvarez, Benson Henderson, Iaquinta along with a host of others.
What are your thoughts on Cerrone’s comments on Sanchez and his coach, Joshua Fabia?
UFC Vegas 26 Fight Card
Marina Rodriguez vs. Michelle Waterson
Neil Magny vs. Geoff Neal
Diego Ferreira vs. Gregor Gillespie
Donald Cerrone vs. Alex Morono
Angela Hill vs. Amanda Ribas
Maurice Greene vs. Marcos Rogerio de Lima
Philipe Lins vs. Ben Rothwell
Ryan Benoit vs. Zarrukh Adashev
Ludovit Klein vs. Mike Trizano
Damir Hadzovic vs. Nikolas Motta
Christian Aguilera vs. Carlston Harris
Tafon Nchukwi vs. Jun Yong Park
