Diego Sanchez needs more than cartwheels to get his career back on track

Diego Sanchez needs some help and even Tony Robbins/Yes power might not be enough. BJ Penn threw him like a discarded orange peel out of the lightweight division, he split with coach Saulo Ribeiro, who was absent when a noticeably soft and unfocused (i.e. he wasn’t frothing at the mouth and screaming “Yes!”) Sanchez lost to John Hathaway in a welterweight bout at UFC 107, and now he’s set to face a very focused and determined Paulo Thiago at UFC 121 in October. That’s the same card that will see Brock Lesnar defend his heavyweight belt against Cain Velasquez and Jake Shields make his UFC debut against Martin Kampmann.

Basically, Sanchez, whose mental state walks a tightrope over Crazytown at the best of times, appears to be in a shambles, adrift, (unhinged?). He’s definitely searching for something. He’s back in his native New Mexico after moving to San Diego to train under Ribeiro. Who knows, maybe he’ll find a way back into old coach Greg Jackson’s good graces.