Diego Sanchez

Diego Sanchez
Diego Sanchez in 2009
Born (1981-12-31) December 31, 1981 (age 42)
Albuquerque, New Mexico, U.S.
NicknameThe Nightmare
ResidenceAlbuquerque, New Mexico, U.S.
Height5 ft 10 in (178 cm)
Weight170 lb (77 kg; 12 st 2 lb)
Division
Reach72 in (183 cm)[1]
StanceSouthpaw
Fighting out ofAlbuquerque, New Mexico, U.S.
TeamJackson Wink MMA Academy (2002–2007, 2010–2019)[2]
RankBlack belt in Gaidojutsu[3]
Black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under Roberto Tussa[4][3]
Years active2002–present
Mixed martial arts record
Total44
Wins30
By knockout10
By submission6
By decision13
By disqualification1
Losses14
By knockout4
By decision10
University[5]
Notable school(s)Del Norte High School
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog

Diego Sanchez (born December 31, 1981) is an American professional mixed martial artist who currently competes on the Super Lightweight division of Eagle Fighting Championship. A professional competitor since 2002, Sanchez is most known for his time in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he won the Middleweight tournament of The Ultimate Fighter 1. He has also formerly competed for King of the Cage, where he was the Welterweight Champion.

Sanchez has been involved in more "Fight of the Year" bouts than any other fighter in mixed martial arts; his first was against Karo Parisyan at UFC Fight Night 6, and then again against Clay Guida at The Ultimate Fighter 9 Finale (which culminated into a title shot against then-UFC Lightweight Champion B.J. Penn, where the two headlined UFC 107), and finally against Gilbert Melendez at UFC 166.

Sanchez is one of two fighters to have competed in four different weight classes in the UFC: Middleweight, Welterweight, Lightweight, and Featherweight; the other being Kenny Florian.

  1. ^ "Fight Card - UFC Fight Night Henderson vs. Khabilov". UFC.com. Archived from the original on May 29, 2014. Retrieved June 8, 2014.
  2. ^ Mike Bohn (June 24, 2019). "Diego Sanchez leaves Jackson-Wink MMA ahead of UFC 239 to train with his former loved Joshua Fabia : 'There was no real love'". mmajunkie.com.
  3. ^ a b "Diego Sanchez - Official UFC Fighter Profile". UFC.com. Archived from the original on December 14, 2016. Retrieved July 10, 2016.
  4. ^ "UFC's Diego Sanchez gets BJJ black belt from GMA Roberto Tussa". graciemag.com. October 1, 2013. Retrieved October 19, 2013.
  5. ^ Amy Kaplan, "Read The Full Transcript of Diego Sanchez's Bizarre UFC 235 Post Fight Interview", FanSided MMA, March 5, 2019. Retrieved October 1, 2019.