Diego Sanchez to face Austin Trout at BKFC KnuckleMania 3

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UFC veteran Diego Sanchez will face former WBA light middleweight champion Austin Trout in the co-main event of the upcoming BKFC KnuckleMania 3 on February 17 in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Both Sanchez and Trout will make their BKFC debut at Tingley Coliseum in Albuquerque. The preliminary matches stream on YouTube, while the main event is broadcasted on BareKnuckle TV.

Trout joined the BKFC in November. He is currently on a five-fight winning streak in professional boxing, with a 35-5 record. He has faced many great boxers in his career, including Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and twin boxers Jermell and Jermall Charlo. One of his most memorable fights came in 2012 when he defended his WBA super welterweight title against Miguel Cotto.

Concerns about Sanchez’s health

Meetings to discuss the fight between Sanchez and Trout began in December last year. In one of the meetings, athletic commissioner Jerome O’Connell addressed some concerns about Sanchez’s health, particularly regarding his supposed head trauma.

“(Concerns) for me center around Diego Sanchez’s long-standing concerns about neurological issues and concussions, and his concerns in articles and interviews about brain damage,” O’Connell said.

In response to the initial hearing, Sanchez and his manager, Ricky Kottenstette, submitted medical testing results, including a brain MRI scan and a neurological exam.

Sanchez assured that fighters engaged in bare-knuckle fighting staged by the BKFC would have less risk of head trauma than boxing or MMA. He added that he had been controlled and misled by his coach when he talked about head trauma in 2016.

O’Connell, however, remained unconvinced. He said other regulatory bodies had also expressed concerns about Sanchez’s health.

“Those, for me, haven’t been alleviated by an MRI and a neurology report. I have some of the same reservations that we talked about when we last got together,” O’Connell said.

Sanchez made no comments about the discussion and had his former manager, Joshua Fabia, respond to online concerns about his health issues. Regardless, he said he cared about his long-term health and made efforts to have himself examined to ensure there were no serious issues.