The end is near for Diego Sanchez.
The Ultimate Fighter 1 winner has been competing professionally for nearly 20 years and during that time, Diego Sanchez has had incredible bouts against Joe Stevenson, Clay Guida, and Gilbert Melendez; however, the 38-year-old plans on wrapping up his career once his current UFC deal ends.
On the Real Quick w/Nike Swick podcast, the veteran confirms that once his four-fight obligation is completed then he'll officially hang up the gloves for good (Transcript courtesy of MMA Junkie):
“I got four more left,” Sanchez said. “I signed my last contract with the UFC, and I’m going to ride these last four fights out, and I’m done. … I can see the end of the tunnel, but I’m not afraid of it anymore. For so many years, I used to be like, ‘No, I’m not going to even think about that. I’m not going to think about retirement.’
I remember when I was 27 I was like, ‘OK, when I’m 37 years old, I’m going to look at everything and I’m going to see where my health is at. I’m going to see where my money is at and if its time maybe I’ll take a couple more fights.’ Then I hit 37 and I was like, ‘Hey, I feel better at 37 than I did at 27, so I’m going to stick with it. Now its to the point where I’m like, ‘All right, be grateful for what you’ve got and get these last four with your mental health, with your health, and your ability to do other things outside of fighting like be a father.”
Once his last fight is finished, Sanchez will head up to the mountains and retire in a “safe place”:
“I’m trying to put my last touches of magic in the UFC, finish out those four last fights," Sanchez said. “But if this is my last fight, it’s my last fight. I don’t know if UFC is going to last, what’s going to happen with the coronavirus or what’s going to happen with the current state that the world is in right now. So you have to be realistic about it and that’s why I say this may be my last fight because I don’t have any plans of getting a vaccine. Me and Joshua (Fabia) are planning on retiring in the mountains in the other side of the city in a safe place. So we’ll see what happens. I’ll never lose hope for humanity, so I just hope we can put it all together and get this (expletive) controlled.”
Sanchez will be making his return to the octagon on September 26 against Jake Matthews. The UFC 253 pay-per-view is set to be headlined with a UFC Middleweight bout between Israel Adesanya and Paulo Costa.