Once upon a time, Donald
Cerrone and Diego
Sanchez were stablemates at Jackson-Wink MMA.
Now that both men have left the Albuquerque, N.M.-based gym,
they will square off in a welterweight bout at a UFC event on
May 8. The fight is expected to be Sanchez’s farewell to the Las
Vegas-based promotion.
It’s something of a curious booking for Cerrone, who previously
expressed a desire to
compete more consistently at 155 pounds at this point in his
career. “Cowboy” explained the decision to accept a welterweight
matchup with Sanchez on his YouTube channel.
“Everyone was booked up,” Cerrone said. “All the fights were
booked. Yeah, [155] is what I wanted to do. Then Diego Sanchez I
guess, went and showed up to the UFC and begged and pleaded with
them to make me his retirement fight. So they called me and they
asked me. I said, ‘Sure.’
“With this fight, yeah, it is at [170] but that doesn’t mean I’m
going to get big. I’m gonna treat it like a [155] fight. I’m gonna
try and walk in there at [170] or 168. Try and be on weight, fight
at [170] and just be ready for moving my body down to 155. That’s
the plan.”
Though they spent many years in the same facility, Cerrone and
Sanchez weren’t necessarily close during their time at Jackson-Wink
MMA. That was most evident when Cerrone departed the camp after the
decision was made to corner newcomer Mike Perry
instead of him in 2018. “Cowboy”
ripped the gym on his way out, referring to it as a “puppy
mill” and claiming that coach Mike Winkeljohn “drove that place
into the ground.”
At the time, Sanchez
took the side of Winkeljohn and the gym. Though “The Ultimate
Fighter 1” winner is no longer with Jackson-Wink, Cerrone hasn’t
forgotten how Sanchez responded.
“He says it’s two legends going at it,” Cerrone said. “I don’t
think so. He talked a lot s—t when I left Jackson’s and now he did
the same thing and left. It’s funny. I was just doing what I had to
do. Built my own gym, trained my own people, starting making this
mold which I think was the right move to do in my career and he had
a lot to say about it. He said he wanted to fight me so here’s his
chance. Be careful what you wish for. So yeah, this should be a fun
highlight reel fight for me.”
Though Sanchez is far removed from his days as a lightweight title
contender, he has managed to win three of his last five UFC
appearances since 2018. Still, “The Nightmare” has become
increasingly less competitive against high-level competition.
Cerrone has fallen on hard times as well, but in going winless in
his last five outings has faced generally more difficult opposition
than his fellow New Mexico resident.
“I’m not overlooking the kid, by no means,” Cerrone said. “There’s
areas where he could be dangerous and if I was fighting old Diego,
10 years ago, yeah, he was tough. Hard pace. I used to train with
the guy, I know. . . He wants this to be his ride into the sunset,
and I have no problem giving it to him.”