Diego Sanchez uses both UFC video games to prepare for bouts
I’m watching Diego Sanchez throw punches, knees and elbow strikes for about five minutes, and dude has worked up a…
I’m watching Diego Sanchez throw punches, knees and elbow strikes for about five minutes, and dude has worked up a serious sweat. Only thing is, it’s not a coach or another fighter helping him train. All that’s in front of him is an Xbox 360, a Kinect, and a copy of “UFC Personal Trainer.”
“This is real sweat, not some sprayed on water just so I can help promote the game,” Sanchez tells me after the demonstration as we sit down backstage at the MGM Grand Garden Arena before UFC 132. “This game will give you a good workout. I have to go change my shirt now. I’m soaked.”
And Sanchez should know, as it was his character on screen actually encouraging the real “Nightmare” to be more precise with his virtual attacks.
“When the first UFC game came out (“UFC Undisputed”), I never even dreamed being in such a realistic game,” he says. “The game is so realistic looking that I do my late night training by getting on my PlayStation 3 and fighting my opponent 20 times in the game. That way I’m able to see myself knocking him out over and over again. It’s a visualization tool for me where you’re seeing it, you’re feeling it and you can already have that knockout in your mind. As long as you go in and do the work and train, when you get in and fight, you’ve already seen what can happen, so it’s more realistic that it will happen.”
