Diego Sanchez Took DQ Win Because He “Knew I Was Down on the Scorecards”
Many fans questioned Diego Sanchez and his decision to take a DQ victory after UFC Rio Rancho. However, there was also a group who voiced their backing of his decision. For Diego, he believes that the decision to take the victory was a smart, veteran move.
Sanchez vs Pereira
Michel Pereira landed an illegal knee on Diego Sanchez. Prior to the knee, Michel was pouring it on Diego. A barrage of kicks led to a tactical and accurate striking execution. However, halfway through the third-round, Pereira landed the knee that cost him the entire match. Which is a tough pill for Pereira to swallow as it appeared that he was winning the fight with flashy movement, hard body shots, and crowd participation.
After consulting with Sanchez referee Jason Herzog, and the in-cage physician ruled the bout as a disqualification. During the talk, Diego was asked if he could continue. In which he asked for clarification that if he could no longer continue, would it count as a win. After getting the info he wanted, he decided that he couldn’t see and the bout was called off.
Of course, fans were enraged at the actions that took place. From their perspective, Sanchez took the easy way out after he was being completely dominated in the later rounds. Plus, many believe that he only stopped the fight once he realized it would count as a win.
Sanchez Explains Taking the DQ Win
For Sanchez, he believes the decision to win via disqualification was a veteran move. He spoke with MMA Junkie to explain his choice.
“Did I quit? No,” said Diego. “I got hit with an (expletive) serious knee to the head. I knew I was going down on the scorecards, I knew how things were rolling out (so) made a smart, veteran decision because I know my face is, regardless or not of the last two minutes of the fight, my face is going to be covered in blood. The image is going to be painted on the judges. I already know. I don’t have a chance of winning that fight anymore. So, did I quit? I made an (expletive) smart decision to not put myself in some real danger where I would’ve been injured when that mother(expletive) hit me with an illegal shot when I was down.”
Should He Have Continued Fighting?
Turns out Diego was coherent after all. While he made it seem like he was out of it, he knew exactly what he was doing. Now, the question remains… do fans respect the choice that Sanchez made? Or, should he have fought it out and tried to earn an honest victory?
