Diego Sanchez hopes to finally throw down with Nate Diaz – without gloves.
Sanchez makes his bareknuckle boxing debut against Austin Trout at BKFC: KnuckleMania 3 on Feb. 17 at Tingley Coliseum in Albuquerque, N.M, which is Sanchez’s home city. The main card streams on BareKnuckle TV after prelims on YouTube.
Although they never crossed paths, Sanchez and Diaz were longtime UFC fighters before each recently parted ways with the promotion. Sanchez does, however, have a 2005 win over Diaz’s brother Nick.
Now Sanchez wants the other superstar from Stockton, Calif., and thinks the fight could happen if he impresses against Trout.
“Nate won’t fight me because I beat his bigger brother and he idolizes his bigger brother in this weird way,” Sanchez told MMA Junkie Radio. “I’ve been trying to fight Nate for 10 years. If this performance can be so epic and so powerful and dominant – and it will be – I have a chance at snagging that Nate Diaz fight. That’s always the fight I wanted, too, because if I beat Nate, then I’m the first guy to ever beat both Diaz brothers.
“You the real G, Nate? Then take off the gloves, homie. Real Gs don’t wear gloves, homie. Real Gs get down in the street – bone to bone, knuckle to knuckle, and the little b*tch ends up buckling.”
But Sanchez also understands Diaz currently is one of the hottest free agents in the game with numerous lucrative options ahead of him.
“I’m telling you all right now: Nate is just like everybody else in combat sports,” Sanchez said. “We’re all just trying to get the highest payday we could get. … So he’s got Conor McGregor, Jake Paul and he’s got Floyd Mayweather. He’s got those three fights that could possibly be big, huge paydays for him.”
