Dana White on potential retirement talks with Diego Sanchez and Donald Cerrone: “It’s the not-so-fun part of the job”

UFC president Dana White says that potentially having retirement talks with Diego Sanchez and Donald Cerrone is the “not-so-fun part of the job.”

White has been open about having a conversation with the 37-year-old Cerrone about retirement after the long-time contender’s five-fight winless skid. Another fighter who White will soon have a tough talk with is Sanchez. The original “Ultimate Fighter” winner, Sanchez has been on the UFC roster for over 15 years. But at age 38, Sanchez has been struggling lately, most recently losing a decision to Jake Matthews at UFC 253.

Sanchez is a legend and when he retires he’s a lock for the UFC Hall of Fame. He’s also still somewhat competitive in his fights, as he’s won three of his last five overall. And he hasn’t been knocked out in three years. But even in his decision losses, he’s still taking a lot of damage. That’s why White says he knows that at some point in the near future he’s going to have to talk to Sanchez and Cerrone about potentially hanging up their gloves.

Here’s what White told reporters on Fight Island following UFC 253 about Sanchez.

“I love Diego Sanchez. And I don’t know. I don’t know. It’s something I need to think about and it’s obviously something I need to talk to the guys about back home when we get back to the office and see what everybody thinks,” White said.

“I got these guys now — you got Diego Sanchez who fights his heart out every time he fights, he was part of TUF 1, everybody knows how I feel about those guys. And he’s just a great, great person. Then you got Cowboy, who you can say all the same things about. And you know, as these guys start to get older and start racking up loses, it’s tough. But Diego’s like, I don’t know for sure off the top of my head, but he’s won three of his last five or something like that. Yeah, it’s tough. It’s tough. It’s the not-so-fun part of the job.”

Do you think Dana White should tell Diego Sanchez and/or Donald Cerrone to retire or give them both another fight?