UFC Hall of Famer Diego Sanchez says he is fighting back after being victimized by former coach Josh Fabia.
In an Instagram video published on Friday, Sanchez accused Fabia of years of abuse, saying that the self-help guru had given up on him after their public and private relationship ended. He claimed that he was made to fear for the safety of his family.
Sanchez also claimed to have filed a restraining order against Fabia, claiming that Fabia is a “trained killer,” a “former hitman,” and a “former contract worker for the cartel.” A search of New Mexico court records by MMA Fighting revealed no such order.
“For the past two years, I have been running away from a very traumatic experience,” Sanchez said in the video. “Words can't even explain how shocking this was. This involved a very evil man who manipulated me, blackmailed me, blackmailed me, and ultimately ended my UFC career. It's related. I've been dating this psychopath for a long time now, 3 or 4 years now. I paid him. I paid him to get out of my life. because the situation had become so volatile, so evil and dark, that there was no other choice: either he had to kill me, or I had to kill him. It was either.”
Sanchez ended his coaching relationship with Fabia in May 2021, one month after his dramatic exit from the UFC. 'The Ultimate Fighter 1' winner appears with former teammate Donald Cerrone at UFC Vegas 26 after being asked for his medical records from his UFC career to document the 'long-term effects of being a UFC fighter.' withdrew from the match. In his promotion, he was asked to certify that he did not suffer from any health complications, including brain problems.
Fabia later accused Sanchez of using her as a coach and business partner after their breakup.
Recently, Sanchez reposted a video that appears to show Fabia ordering a six-figure payout to a former UFC fighter and severing their business relationship.
In a video posted Friday, Sanchez says he paid a “psychopath” Fabia to “get out of my life. Things have gotten so volatile, evil and dark that I don't have any other options.” That's because there wasn't,” he admitted. Either he would kill me or I would have to kill him. ”
Sanchez said he decided not to physically retaliate against Fabia because he feared she would be sent to prison and reminisce about her daughter's childhood.
“Everyone wants to say to me, 'Why didn't you break his neck, why didn't you crush this guy?' If it were me, I would have punched him,” Sanchez said. “Yeah, I wanted to, but I'm dealing with a very unstable, mentally unstable, sociopathic psychopath, to put it in the best way. You're dealing with a Charlie Manson type of person.'' He's gone so far that he's unstable and dangerous.
“And the manipulation that was put on me was that he was a former trained hitman, a former hitman, a former contract worker for a cartel, and there was so much darkness in this man that I was in a state of fear where I feared not only for my life but also for the safety of my daughter, her mother and even her mother.”
Sanchez claimed that Fabia threatened him during their professional relationship and that he was later abandoned by his guru and coach because his financial strength was not worth it.
He said that confronting Fabia after all this time was necessary for him to move forward in his life and career.
“Dude, I'm losing sleep over this,” he said. “I spent countless nights without rest and went to bed in the morning to feel safe, because he wanted me dead and I was the reason he ruined his life. Because there are some true psychopaths out there who believe in, eventually this is how a man came into my life and did the opposite. He ruined my stuff. But, In his opinion, I ruined his reputation. I ruined his company. And it wasn't me who had greed in his heart. He had greed in him.”
“When he found out I didn't have as much money as I thought he did, he went insane and introduced me to slavery, putting me in torture conditions that even people couldn't believe. This is real. Charlie Manson-level insanity. My love for my daughter, my mother, and my family put me in this situation and forced me to follow his every move.”
Sanchez included a call to potential promoters for another bout in MMA, bare-knuckle MMA or bare-knuckle boxing. He most recently competed in the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championships, where he faced former boxing champion Austin Trout in February 2023, losing in a bloody decision.
