Intensity in the Flesh

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For a while, the most-asked question regarding Sanchez involved his split from the school where he got his start in MMA. Since besting Thiago upon his return to the team, that talk has subsided, as has discussion of another run in the lightweight division.

“There will never be another fight for Diego Sanchez at 155. That was a brief hiatus. I told everybody I wanted to win the belt and go back up. Truthfully, I was never 100 percent at 55. I was always 75 percent. I was never strong. I was wiry strong, but I didn’t have my brute strength that you have from lifting weights,” Sanchez says. “I want to make a statement with how I look. I want guys to say, ‘I can’t believe how strong he was in there.’ I don’t ever want to get out-strengthed in my career ever again.”

Kindred Spirits

With just one professional bout to his credit, Parks remains something of an MMA novice, but his wrestling credentials are top notch.

As part of the World Class Athlete Program, the California native was just a few steps away from representing the United States in the Olympics, but he eventually came up short to current Strikeforce heavyweight prospect Daniel Cormier. Parks also shared living quarters with reigning UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez while the two were at Iowa Central Community College. When he began training with Jackson’s team, he found himself drawn to Sanchez.

Sanchez invited the decorated wrestler to stay with him in his mountain home on the outskirts of the city. The seclusion and the altitude make for fruitful training when the two are away from the school.

“We just clicked, and he liked my intensity and how I go. We’re like brothers now,” Parks says.

“It was a good switch to have someone there motivating me. That’s what I tell Diego every day. It was kind of like living with Cain. He motivates me; he’s a hard worker. It actually works out and benefits me and us together.”

Parks and Sanchez adopted a wrestling-infused theme for the current camp.

“Me and him came up with a motto we’re gonna put on some T-shirts. It’s gonna say, ‘Get the leg,’ kind of like jiu-jitsu, where the guy wants to get that arm and tear it off or get a choke,” Parks says. “No one’s really instilled [the idea] of getting to his legs, and when you get to him, you’re gonna get him down and you’re gonna punish him.”

In losses to Penn, Hathaway and Jon Fitch, Sanchez was not always able to achieve that goal. Now the idea has become so ingrained that Parks hears him say it everywhere.

“It’s funny because we’ll be at the house, and he’ll just walk through the house and yell it,” Parks says.

In victory, vintage Sanchez attacks like a madman, scoring takedowns almost at will and battering his opponent with ground-and-pound. Living that slogan is integral to having his hand raised at the end of a fight.

“When you go for a takedown, you’ve really got to commit to it. You can’t just go lackluster,” Sanchez says. “Basically, when you see that leg, you freak out, and it’s like a piece of meat. You just want to bite that leg and eat it and just go crazy. Ain’t nothing in the world gonna stop you from getting that leg.”

Driving Home a Point

The slam was one for the highlight reel.

When Sanchez scooped up Thiago in his arms, let out a primal scream and drove the Brazilian to the canvas at the outset of their bout in October, he did so with a clear mind.

It might sound poignant to say that the New Mexican was announcing a return to form with the yell that could be heard above the energized crowd at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif., that night, but it would not be true.

“I was just fighting,” Sanchez says. “There was not a thought in my head. I was just doing what I do.”

It is a simple explanation, but Sanchez seems to thrive under such circumstances. Get stronger, grab the leg, win the fight -- all motivation to stay late after practice. Sanchez remembers a time when he was not making the extra effort. He says Kampmann will not see that person in the cage.

“All I can say is that I’m ready for this fight,” Sanchez says. “I’ve really worked hard. I was punished with losses because I didn’t do what it takes to deserve the victory. I know in my heart that I didn’t do what it took. That’s what drives me every training camp now.”

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