"It's time to heal, not hurt"- UFC veteran Diego Sanchez confirms retirement following next fight

UFC veteran and welterweight fighter, Diego Sanchez has confirmed that his next outing in the octagon will be his last. Sanchez is a 43-fight MMA veteran.

Diego Sanchez took to Twitter and stated, “It’s my last fight, my heart path has changed. It’s time to heal, not hurt! One more nightmare to give! It is honestly in Dana White’s hand who I fight. I have no choice in this nor do the matchmakers. #endofanera”

It’s my last fight my heart path has changed, it’s time to heal not hurt! One more Nightmare to give! It is honestly in @danawhite hands who I fight, I have no choice in it nor do the match makers #endofanera

— Diego Sanchez UFC (@DiegoSanchezUFC) January 10, 2021

Since his debut back in 2005, Diego Sanchez has been one of the most active fighters in the UFC. He is 5-5 in his last ten UFC outings and had earlier stated that he will still try and make one final run for the 170-pound title.

However, years of damage and exhaustion seem to have caught up with ‘The Nightmare’. From his Tweet, it is apparent that he plans on retiring before the age of 40 years to avoid permanent damage and live out his days outside the cage or the octagon.

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A quick glance at Diego Sanchez’s legendary career

Diego Sanchez was a contestant on the first season of The Ultimate Fighter and won the contest after a string of dominant performances.

And while he competed in the middleweight bracket, after his finale win over Kenny Florian he decided to move back to his natural weight class of 170-pounds.

His debut fight for the UFC as a contracted fighter was against Brian Gassaway which he won via TKO in the second round. He would then face Nick Diaz and in a major upset defeated the elder Diaz brother via unanimous decision.

Fellow TUF contestant Josh Koscheck handed him his first professional loss at UFC 69. After suffering another loss at the hands of Jon Fitch in his next fight, he would amass four straight wins earning a title shot at B.J. Penn’s lightweight strap.

Penn would defeat Diego Sanchez due to a doctor's stoppage in the fifth round.

Throughout his MMA career, Sanchez has fought at middleweight, welterweight, lightweight, and featherweight divisions.

He holds wins over some of MMA’s greatest fighters like Karo Parisyan, Clay Guida, Takanori Gomi, and Jim Miller among many others.

His fight against Clay Guida earned him a spot in the UFC Hall OF Fame in 2019.

Diego Sanchez has also amassed eight post-fight bonuses and with 18 wins in the promotion is tied seventh for most wins in the UFC.

And while he has mentioned in his Tweet that Dana White will decide his last opponent, he had shown interest in fighting fellow veteran James Krause.

James Krause responds to Diego Sanchez's callout by sharing Instagram messages https://t.co/BQG4yLZcAC

— MMA Junkie (@MMAjunkie) January 6, 2021

Whether Krause will be chosen as his last opponent though, remains to be seen.