Diego Sanchez Uses UFC Video Game to Train

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.

"Your level of intensity is up to you in this game, and that's what I love about it because I'm an intense guy," Sanchez says. "When I shadowbox, I go hard. But now, I have a much more fun way to do it with this game. It's awesome. And what fans might not realize is that you're actually learning the different MMA techniques while you're playing the game because you have real trainers like Greg Jackson in there, I'm in the game, the heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez is in there, and it's almost like getting trained by your favorite fighters.

"Let me tell you, I was freaking out when I first started playing. I was getting trained by myself and it sounded exactly like me and it was freaking me out a little. Luckily, I'm a pretty nice trainer. I'm all about encouragement and positive reinforcement in the game, so I was really nice to myself while I was playing."

But this isn't the first time Sanchez has taken a UFC video game and used it for all it's worth, as the submission specialist whose last two brawls were voted "Fight of the Night" actually uses THQ's "UFC Undisputed" franchise to help him visualize his fights before heading out into the octagon for real.

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