Faith; through the eyes of the “Nightmare”

Faith; through the eyes of the “Nightmare”




Exclusive interview with Diego Sanchez


Written by Penny Buffington

Ever wonder why an athlete who is about to fight in a mixed martial arts event would be giving glory to God? UFC fighter Diego “Nightmare” Sanchez gives a look into what his faith means to him and why he always gives the glory to God. Diego explains; to him faith is a matter of religion as well as a spiritual thing. “I consider myself a believer. I believe in Jesus Christ and that he died on the cross for our sins that is what my fundamental belief is. Religion is spiritual. I do go to Church and I do read the Bible. I do study because that is the word of God and you should. But of course it is a spiritual thing.”

The 27 year old UFC mixed martial arts fighters parents brought him up to “believe” in God and his son Jesus Christ, lovingly teaching him the ways of the Bible. “It is what I was born into. Mom had a big influence on teaching me the right way. My parents were Catholics growing up and then they converted to Christians whenever they were pregnant with me.”

Even though “Nightmares” parents wanted him to believe, it really is a choice that had to be made by Diego himself. “You know many things have happened in my life. The trials the tribulations, everybody has their stories, where they went wrong and what they did wrong. As for me, I am the type of person I want to find out on my own. And time and time again God has always let me know from what my Mom and Dad was telling me from the beginning was always the truth. But you know being a kid and being kind of stubborn you want to find out the truth for yourself. Usually in most cases you need to learn the hard way. And I did!”

“Getting into my older age I am starting to finally find wisdom and make better decisions and smarter choices.” Diego admits to making mistakes, “From my turning my back on the laws of God; dancing with the devil and temptation and sin. That wasn’t going to do anything; but digging myself into a hole, that I would eventually have to pull myself out of. Lucky for us we have a very forgiving God. That is why he gave his only begotten son Jesus Christ who died on the cross for our sins.”
As for Church Diego says, “ I go to The Rock in San Diego and when I am in different places I go to different churches.”

Diego believes in making time to dedicate thoughts and prayers to God. “I do tai chi and I do Qigong energy meditation and I always incorporate my scripture into everything that I do. Whether it be running on the treadmill. Whether it be working out. I’m always constantly reciting scriptures in my mind and communicating with God. Another thing that I recently started to do was writing down all my prayers in a notepad. I’ve had huge success with that by writing everything down.”

Diego starts his day with a text message from his boxing coach. “My boxing coach sends me Bible verses. He text messages me bible verses every morning. I read those and I start my day out like that. I try to get a little wisdom from what he sends me. I’m also looking into joining a Bible study fellowship. Ali does it, so I want to start doing that with her.” Diego’s girlfriend is Ali Sonoma, a former UFC octagon ring girl.

Being a Christian isn’t all that complicated to Diego, “Christian is basically, following the 10 commandments, that is basically what it comes down to.”

Before and after every fight Diego Sanchez can be heard giving all the glory to God. He explains, "I’m giving the glory to him. I am thankful for everything. I give him the victory. I do not consider the victory as mine. It is his. I envision being one of his warriors and giving him the glory, “HIM”. Saying look, this win wasn’t really me winning, it was him winning, through me, by me giving and putting it out there so people can say, look, this guy is giving God credit for his victory.”

The finale thoughts Diego shared with me were, “No matter how down and out you are all things are possible through Jesus Christ. I’m a true witness to that. I have a great life. It’s all because of him. I give him the glory. I give him the credit.” Next time you hear a fighter mentioning God remember that faith is a beautiful thing. Any time someone wants to give God a shout out, it’s a good thing!

Diego praying in the UFC octagon before an event, picture taken and provided by Kasey Anne Leech:


Audio:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ADRuY7yqtlc

Ultimate Women’s Combat Press Release

May 20, 2009 – Los Angeles: Lyle Howry Productions in partnership with Momentum Entertainment & Sports Network is proud to announce the syndication of Ultimate Women’s Combat (working title). Executive Producers are Lyle Howry, Dallas Tanner, and Jeff Rice. This reality based television show will be syndicated by Momentum Entertainment & Sports Network. The show will be broadcast over NBC stations and affiliates throughout the United States. Other network affiliated stations and station groups will also be included in the airing of the show. With an anticipated premiere in late 2009 or early 2010, the show is expected to reach over 60 Million households in top markets throughout the U.S.

Ultimate Women’s Combat is a television show that focuses on 16 female Mixed Martial Arts fighters as they attempt to make a name for themselves in the rough and tumble world of professional cage fighting. Many of these combatants have been connected to male fighters and trainers their entire careers. It’s now time for them to step out of the shadows and into the fire! Throughout the show the audience will get to know these warriors not only as fighters but as women who have lives, responsibilities and experiences that extend beyond the cage. Ultimate Women’s Combat will delve deep into the lives of these women pulling from them the most intriguing details of what makes a female fighter. The weekly challenges will have the girls working closely with nationally recognized organizations to make the public aware of issues that have impacted our communities and the women themselves. Make no mistake, this is a fight show and there will be fights! At the end of the season the winners of the tournament will receive a major contract from a partnered fighting promotion. Ultimate Women’s Combat is not a fighting promotion and the creators do not intend to promote fights under the Ultimate Women’s Combat banner.

Bas Rutten and Maxim 100 model, Joanna Krupa will play hosts to the show. Also featured as coaches are #1 ranked fighter, Tara LaRosa, U.K. fighting sensation Rosi Sexton, Strike Force contender Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos and Jiu-jitsu legend Cesar Gracie. The 16 female fighters include Felice Herrig, Angela Magana, Angela Hayes, Melissa Steele, Roxy Richardson, Lauren Sugahara, Kerry Vera, Michelle Vera, Moroeles Coenen, Casey Noland, Molly Helsel, Vanessa Mariscal, Jessica Aguilar, Martha Benavides, and Kate McGray (fight roster subject to change).

Lyle Howry of Lyle Howry Productions would like to thank the following sponsors for their continual support throughout Ultimate Women’s Combat tryout’s and preliminary events: Self Defined Clothing, Tussle Fight Gear, Super Body Care, U.K. Cage Warriors, HGH Infusion, Bas Rutten's Elite MMA and Dojo Fight Gear.