Ultimate Fighter season 1 middleweight winner Diego Sanchez has been arrested in New Mexico on two firearm charges.
MMAFighting broke the news on Friday morning after receiving an arrest report regarding the former UFC vet. The arrest report lists two charges, a fourth-degree felony “Shooting at or from a motor vehicle (no great bodily harm)” charge, and a misdemeanor “Negligent use of a deadly weapon (discharge)” charge.
At the time of publication, MMAFighting is reporting that Sanchez is still in custody in Albuquerque until a court appearance where a judge will set his bail.
According to the outlet, Sanchez is accused of firing a gun from the passenger seat of a moving vehicle. The driver of the vehicle, who isn’t facing charges according to MMAFighting, detailed the situation to police, indicating that Sanchez fired the shot, however, the TUF 1 winner denied the accusation.
As part of the original story, MMAFighting spoke with Sanchez’s rep, Ricky Kottenstette, who indicated that the UFC vet has been dealing with lingering substance issues over the past few years despite several stints in rehab.
Much like during Sanchez’s public fallout with Joshua Fabia, it’s clear that the MMA community is throwing its collective support behind the embattled fighter amid his recent legal troubles.
Looking Back At Diego Sanchez’s Fallout With Joshua Fabia
In the twilight years of his career, Diego Sanchez infamously began working with a coach named Joshua Fabia, who describes himself on Instagram as a “healer/self-awareness expert and the founder of the School of Self Awareness”.
As Sanchez’s coach, Fabia accompanied the Ultimate Fighter 1 winner throughout fight week, notably crashing Sanchez’s fighter meeting with the broadcasting team and starting a back-and-forth with Paul Felder and Megan Olivi on one occasion.
The 20-minute video, which has since been deleted from Sanchez’s Instagram, shows just one of several examples of the coach-athlete dynamic between the two, with other notable examples, such as the infamous video of Fabia using Sanchez as a human punching bag, raising further questions about the relationship.
During an episode of Vice’s Deeper Into the Cage, Sanchez described the final meeting between the two, where he signed a $100,000 check to get Fabia out of his life:
“For me, it had got to such a peak, it was so deep that either this guy was going to kill me, or I was going to have to kill him. I did want to kill him, but I knew if I went to those measures, I was going to miss the second half of my child’s childhood.
“He made me sign the check right there in that moment, on camera too. To have proof that it wasn’t a ‘forced’ thing. At that moment, it was the easiest thing to do, because I would’ve done anything to get out of that situation…I was in true danger and people were able to see that I was.”
Looking At Diego Sanchez’s Combat Sports Career Following UFC Departure
After parting ways with the UFC following his unanimous decision loss to Jake Matthews in 2020, Diego Sanchez had a 2021 fight with Donald Cerrone cancelled, ultimately leading to his release from the UFC.
The following year, he signed with Khabib Nurmagomedov’s Eagle FC, making his promotional debut against fellow UFC vet Kevin Lee. The two wound up going to a decision, with indications being that Sanchez would fight for the promotion again, however, Eagle FC wound up failing to establish itself in the US the way the promotional brass hoped.
As a result, Sanchez wound up signing with BKFC for the Knucklemania 3 card in 2023. In his promotional debut, Sanchez threw down with Austin Trout, losing in the fourth round via doctor stoppage.
While there had been talk of Diego Sanchez throwing down with fellow UFC vet John Makdessi in a boxing match back in April, the event was cancelled.
Ultimate Fighter Winner Diego Sanchez Arrested in New Mexico