Diego, Diego

I was watching TV late one night when I chanced upon rerun of UFC or the Ultimate Fighting Championship. I'm not really a big fan of violence-themed shows but I got stuck watching because I saw Diego Sanchez.

For those who are not familiar with him, Diego Sanchez won the first season of The Ultimate Fighter in 2005. I was once a sucker for reality tv shows especially during the first season so yeah I saw that. What got me watching was that he was one of the smallest in the group but his aura had this sense of... confidence. He wasn't shrinking into the background or anything like that. You knew he was there.

This was when I got intrigued by mixed martial arts. There was no way of knowing who had the advantage, not by size or by merits. I'm not an expert in any of the arts but it seems to me that those who won are mostly those that have experiences in more than one fighting style.

Anyway, Diego was dubbed as the Golden Boy back then when he won the show. From then on until 2007, he had an unblemished record. Until he fought Josh Koschek, who was also in the show with him that season. The loss was very hard on Diego and I think he stopped fighting in UFC for a while. He now returns with a vengeance.

Maybe that's the thing that got me watching. When I saw him again, he lost his "pretty boy" innocence. His face was harder, tougher if I may say. It's like he grew up real fast and now understands what life is all about.

I guess that's what happens to most people, if not everyone. We only learn and grow if something doesn't go our way. The important thing is that when we fall, we always have to stand up and try again.

Diego won the match by the way.

Thanks for reading and have a good day!