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Report: Fabia warned NAC that Sanchez might kill Chiesa at UFC 239

Josh Hedges / UFC / Getty

The Nevada Athletic Commission and UFC officials considered canceling the UFC 239 fight between Diego Sanchez and Michael Chiesa last July because of a bizarre warning from Sanchez's controversial coach, Joshua Fabia.

Before the bout, Fabia told commission officials to notify the referee that his fighter might kill Chiesa with a choke they'd been working on, sources told MMA Junkie's John Morgan.

Fabia said Chiesa could die or be paralyzed due to the technique, which was described to Morgan as a standing guillotine choke that transitions to a slam - similar to WWE legend "Stone Cold" Steve Austin's finishing move, known as the "Stone Cold Stunner."

The coach reportedly added that if Sanchez began to apply the move against Chiesa, the bout should be waved off immediately for safety reasons.

The NAC then expressed concerns to the UFC, but the two parties ultimately deemed the chances of such a move being pulled off to be very small.

In the end, Chiesa beat Sanchez via unanimous decision, with all three judges scoring the fight 30-26.

Fabia has become a divisive figure in MMA after acting as Sanchez's lone cornerman for his last two bouts.

Most recently, Fabia was in Sanchez's corner for the fighter's disqualification win (illegal knee) over Michel Pereira at UFC Rio Rancho on Saturday.

UFC commentators and fans were critical of Fabia's lack of technical advice to Sanchez, while longtime MMA coach Trevor Wittman called the coach's instructions "very weird."

Sanchez vehemently defended Fabia after the fight, even posting a breakdown of the bout on Instagram to highlight how much the coach has helped transform his style after a 15-year UFC career.

Fabia also hit back at his critics, telling The Athletic's Josh Gross that he's been bullied by an MMA community that doesn't understand his work with the UFC Hall of Famer.

Sanchez was down 20-18 to Pereira on all the scorecards ahead of the third round, in which the bout was stopped due to the illegal knee.

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