Diego Sanchez said that he is in communication with the UFC and has agreed to enrol in the Professional Athletes Brain Health Study funded in part by UFC.
“We’re talking, man,” Sanchez told MMA Fighting.
“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.”
After his release from UFC, he reached out to the promotion to pay for neurological testing with a doctor of his choosing.
He made it clear that he didn’t trust the promotion to choose the provider. His lack of trust towards the promotion came after Sanchez was released from UFC even though he passed his pre-fight medicals.
The Professional Athletes Brain Health Study studies the long-term health effects of repetitive head trauma. The participants are kept anonymous by the Cleveland Clinic’s Luo Ruvo Center for Brain Health in Las Vegas.
As of January, UFC has claimed that over 100 current and former fighters had enrolled in the study.
“I’ve got to take care of myself now. 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,” Sanchez said.
“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 bullsh*t 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.”
Following his release from UFC, Sanchez has revealed that he will be going to schools and talking to kids about the truth of sports.
“I’ll be going to schools and talking to kids about the truth of sports and how to work hard in your education, and maybe you don’t need to join up on the wrestling team to become a UFC fighter,” he said.
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