Diego Sanchez’s issues with the law aren’t over just yet.
On Monday, the UFC legend and original Ultimate Fighter winner was arrested in Socorro, New Mexico and hit with a pair of charges stemming from a traffic stop. As first reported by KOB4, Sanchez was charged with Aggravated Driving Under the Influence (Blood Alcohol Greater Than 0.16), and Probation Violation.
Cageside Press confirmed the news with online court records. The 44 year old Sanchez was on probation after being arrested for discharging a firearm from a moving vehicle in 2025. That matter was settled before the courts earlier this year, when the former UFC title challenger was sentenced to five years of probation.
At the time, Sanchez indicated that he was getting help for substance abuse issues.
Diego Sanchez won The Ultimate Fighter 1 middleweight tournament in 2005, then dropped to welterweight and later lightweight, where he challenged BJ Penn for gold in 2009 at UFC 107. He would compete over 20 times for the UFC, even trying his hand at featherweight, though he would never again challenge for a championship.
Sanchez (30-14) exited the UFC off a loss to Jake Matthews at UFC 253 in 2020, the returned to face Kevin Lee under the Eagle FC banner two years later in a losing effort. Much of his later career was plagued by concerns for his health and mental well-being, based in part due to an odd association with Joshua Fabia, a “self-awareness” expert who somehow worked his way into Sanchez’s inner circle, and even his corner. That relationship was later featured on Dark Side of the Cage.
