It looks like the professional relationship between Diego Sanchez and UFC has taken a turn for the better. In a conversation with MMA Fighting on Monday, the 39-year-old veteran revealed that he’s in talks with his former employer about undergoing a brain health study.
“We’re talking, man,” Sanchez said. “We’re going to do some studies and get myself and my mental health and everything documented by the doctors at the Cleveland Health Clinic and a couple other places that they’re going to pay for me to go to.
“We’re going to see how that goes, and then we’re going to get a second opinion.”
Sanchez’s association with the UFC seemed to have soured after his release, at least from his end. Last week, the TUF 1 alum made claims about the company’s supposed ties with Instagram and how paid robots are creating a narrative to put his mentor Joshua Fabia in a negative light.
Then there’s his issue about his medical records with the UFC, which he now says are “potentially being falsified.” He’s willing to work with the company, nonetheless, beginning with some MRI scans.
“I’ve got to take care of myself now,” he said. “I have issues from fighting for a long career, and I hope that science gets better, that these doctors can do a good job and see what’s going on and give me some help.
“To be honest, I feel vulnerable right now, and I’m dealing with a billion-dollar corporation. So if you guys want to pretend like they’re the most honest company and they’re doing the most honest and moral work, you can pretend and bullshit yourself, but I ain’t going to believe that.
“When medicals have been a part of this whole scandal, and medicals potentially being falsified, we don’t know what’s going on. We’ve been a part of an investigation that’s been going on for a couple of years.
“Right now, we’re at this step. The UFC’s going to help me get some MRIs and some studies done, and we’re going to move forward from there.”
The UFC began working with the Cleveland Clinic in 2011 through a $2 million donation to what is now known as Professional Athletes Brain Health Study. In January, the promotion extended that partnership for at least five more years with an additional $1 million donation through the Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health in Las Vegas.
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