Fighting A Special Needs Adult
We’ll end with a story that at first glance might seem alarming – Sanchez fighting an adult with special needs in the cage – but is in fact a sweet moment that demonstrates a more thoughtful, caring side to ‘The Nightmare.’
Sanchez first befriended MMA fan Isaac ‘The Shermanator’ Marquez, who has down syndrome, when he came to visit the Jackson Wink Academy to watch the pro-fighters train, and soon he became a regular at the gym.
Sanchez promised that one day he would make the 32-year-old Marquez’s dream of fighting him come true, and sure enough at Jackson-Wink Fights 2 at a casino in Albuquerque they stepped into the Octagon together for an exhibition bout.
Marquez would go on to win the fight by armbar in the first round and dedicated the win to his mother, who had died of dementia.
