Posted June 24, 201014 yr Another fighter I wanna bang Diego J. Sanchez (born December 31, 1981) is a Mexican-American mixed martial artist (MMA) with a background in wrestling and Gaidojutsu, system of submission wrestling developed by his longtime, but now former, trainer Greg Jackson.Sanchez is the winner of the first season of The Ultimate Fighter reality series and currently fights as a welterweight with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He trains at The Arena MMA gym and Throwdown San Diego, where his coaches are Saulo Ribeiro and Tony Palafox. Mixed martial arts career Diego Sanchez wrestled for Del Norte High school in Albuquerque, New Mexico before starting training MMA while working for UPS. Sanchez eventually joined Jackson's Submission Fighting, still while working for UPS, managing the time between work and training. In 2002, he made his MMA debut for King of the Cage where he also later became a champion. His UFC debut came when he was chosen as a participant on the first season of the reality show, The Ultimate Fighter. Presented as a young, focused middleweight who only had one goal, to become a UFC champion, he won a contract with the UFC after winning a fight against Kenny Florian, becoming the middleweight winner for the first season of the show. On the show, Sanchez was known for being the "odd-ball" of the group, practicing yoga at odd moments and trying to extract "energy" from a lightning storm, and was also a self-proclaimed "Zen master". Shortly after, Sanchez dropped to welterweight, defeating Brian Gassaway, Nick Diaz, John Alessio, Karo Parisyan and Joe Riggs. Sanchez' last fight before his loss to Josh Koscheck was against Joe Riggs on December 13, 2006 at UFC Fight Night 7. Sanchez landed a right hook that knocked Riggs down, followed by a running knee that knocked Riggs out. Sanchez won at 1:45 of the first round, scoring the first UFC knockout of his career. Sanchez was then cleared to fight Koscheck after serving a three-month suspension following a failed drug test where Sanchez tested positive for the agents found in marijuana At the weigh-in for UFC 69, Sanchez shoved Koscheck while they stared each other down. Sanchez ended up losing by decision to Josh Koscheck at UFC 69, ending his undefeated run, in a fight that was virtually all stand up. Predicted to be one of the best fights of 2007, the bout was slow paced, with very few exchanges. Going into the final moments of the third round, Sanchez was expected to advance in aggression in order to attempt a win, but instead he remained timid, throwing very short, under powered jabs. Koscheck managed to keep Sanchez at bay with superior hand speed and footwork until the bout timed out, to take the win on all three judges' cards. Several weeks after the fight, Dana White announced that Sanchez was sick on the eve of the fight and almost had to retire when a test came back indicating he had Hepatitis C.Doctors eventually concluded the test results were not correct, but could not diagnose his sickness, so the fight went ahead as planned. The day after the fight Sanchez had a hole in his thigh the "size of a coffee cup" and was diagnosed with a staph infection. In his next fight he lost a split decision to Jon Fitch at UFC 76 on September 22, 2007 before rebounding against David Bielkheden at UFC 82 with a submission due to strikes. Following the win, Sanchez stopped former Marine Luigi Fioravanti via TKO due to strikes at 4:07 of the third round at The Ultimate Fighter 7 Finale. After pulling out of a fight with Thiago Alves due to an injury, Sanchez announced he would be moving to the lightweight division. Move to Lightweight His next fight was then scheduled for February 21, 2009 at UFC 95 against Joe Stevenson in the lightweight division. Training for the bout Sanchez worked with professional boxers Joey Gilbert and Lupe Aquino, Brazilian grappling experts Xande and Saulo Ribeiro and wrestling coach Bob Anderson. Although Stevenson pressed the action throughout the bout, Sanchez landed the better strikes and won by unanimous decision. Diego credits Tony Robbins for giving him mental preparation for this latest fight, and was seen entering the bout chanting "yes" repeatedly. On June 20, 2009, Sanchez won a split-decision victory against Clay Guida at the finale of The Ultimate Fighter: United States vs. United Kingdom Finale. Sanchez won Fight of the Night honors, his second such award in a row. Opening up with a seemingly endless barrage of jabs and right uppercuts for the first minute he shook Guida, in the first round Sanchez also connected with a head kick that floored his opponent. Sanchez maintained a superior standup through the first round and the rest of the fight, though Guida rallied and made a contest of the next two rounds in a closely contested match. The fight went on to win "Fight of the Year" by several MMA magazines and the UFC. At UFC 107 on December 12, 2009, Sanchez fought and lost to BJ Penn for the UFC Lightweight Championship. Early in the first round, Penn landed a right hand that dropped Sanchez, followed by flurry of punches that almost prompted referee Herb Dean to stop the fight. Although Sanchez was able to recover enough to stay in the bout, he was outclassed in the following 3 rounds that saw Penn dominate with superior stand up, whilst all 27 takedown attempts made by Sanchez were negated by Penn's superior defense. Early in the fifth round, Penn landed a head kick that caused a large cut to be opened up on the forehead. Herb Dean called the action to a halt for doctor's advice and the fight ended at 2:37 by TKO, marking the first time Sanchez has been stopped in a fight. This also marked only the second fight in UFC history to end in the fifth round. At the post-fight press conference, UFC President Dana White was quoted saying Sanchez was "about as busted up as I've ever seen a guy." Sanchez had his bottom lip completely split open, with his left eye swollen shut and a large cut above his left eyebrow. Return to Welterweight Following his loss to Penn, Sanchez has claimed that he will be going back to fighting as a welterweight. Diego Sanchez made his return to his hometown, Albuquerque, New Mexico and has been training at Albuquerque Kickboxing & MMA for his return to welterweight. Sanchez then faced John Hathaway on May 29, 2010 at UFC 114. In the first round of the fight, Hathaway caught Sanchez with a knee to the head as Sanchez attempted a takedown. Hathaway then dominated with ground and pound while all of Sanchez's takedown attempts were negated by Hathaways excessive size and strength, while through the rest of the way fight saw Hathaway utilize his superior striking reach, giving him the unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26), handing Sanchez his second consecutive loss. Personal life Diego was engaged to Ali Sonoma. The pair separated. Diego is a devout follower of personal power guru Tony Robbins’ teachings and occasional meditation sessions in the rain and the ocean, which he believes allows him to absorb energy from the elements. Loss 21-4 John Hathaway Decision (Unanimous) UFC 114: Rampage vs. Evans 02010-05-29 May 29, 2010 3 5:00 Las Vegas, Nevada, US Return to Welterweight Loss 21–3 BJ Penn TKO (Cut) UFC 107: Penn vs. Sanchez 02009-12-12 December 12, 2009 5 2:37 Memphis, Tennessee, US For the UFC Lightweight Championship yWin 21–2 Clay Guida Decision (Split) The Ultimate Fighter 9 Finale 02009-06-20 June 20, 2009 3 5:00 Las Vegas, Nevada, US Fight of the Night, 2009 Fight Of the Year yWin 20–2 Joe Stevenson Decision (Unanimous) UFC 95: Sanchez vs. Stevenson 02009-02-21 February 21, 2009 3 5:00 London, England Lightweight Debut, Fight of the Night yWin 19–2 Luigi Fioravanti TKO (Strikes) The Ultimate Fighter 7 Finale 02008-06-21 June 21, 2008 3 4:07 Las Vegas, Nevada, US yWin 18–2 David Bielkheden Submission (Strikes) UFC 82: Pride of a Champion 02008-03-01 March 1, 2008 1 4:43 Columbus, Ohio, US Loss 17–2 Jon Fitch Decision (Split) UFC 76: Knockout 02007-09-22 September 22, 2007 3 5:00 Anaheim, California, US yLoss 17–1 KoscheckJosh Koscheck Decision (Unanimous) UFC 69: Shootout 02007-04-07 April 7, 2007 3 5:00 Houston, Texas, US xWin 17–0 RiggsJoe Riggs KO (Knee) UFC Fight Night 7 02006-12-13 December 13, 2006 1 1:45 San Diego, California, US xWin 16–0 ParisyanKaro Parisyan Decision (Unanimous) UFC Fight Night 6 02006-08-17 August 17, 2006 3 5:00 Las Vegas, Nevada, US xWin 15–0 AlessioJohn Alessio Decision (Unanimous) UFC 60: Hughes vs. Gracie 02006-05-27 May 27, 2006 3 5:00 Los Angeles, CA, US xWin 14–0 DiazNick Diaz Decision (Unanimous) The Ultimate Fighter 2 Finale 02005-11-05 November 5, 2005 3 5:00 Las Vegas, NV, US xWin 13–0 GassawayBrian Gassaway Submission (Strikes) UFC 54: Boiling Point 02005-08-20 August 20, 2005 2 1:56 Las Vegas, NV, US xWin 12–0 FlorianKenny Florian TKO (Strikes) The Ultimate Fighter 1 Finale 02005-04-09 April 9, 2005 1 2:46 Las Vegas, NV, US Won The Ultimate Fighter Middleweight contest xWin 11–0 SantiagoJorge Santiago Decision (Unanimous) King of the Cage 36: Unfinished Business 02004-06-12 June 12, 2004 3 5:00 San Jacinto, California, US Won King of the Cage Welterweight Championship xWin 10–0 ElbeRay Elbe Submission (Strikes) King of the Cage 35: Albuquerque 02004-05-15 May 15, 2004 1 1:07 Albuquerque, New Mexico, US xWin 9–0 BeachlerTravis Beachler TKO Pride of Albuquerque 02004-04-10 April 10, 2004 3 0:35 Albuquerque, New Mexico, US xWin 8–0 ChaconCruz Chacon Submission Independent Event 02004-02-28 February 28, 2004 N/A N/A New Mexico, US xWin 7–0 CronkJohn Cronk Submission (kimura) King of the Cage 26: Gladiator Challenge 02003-08-03 August 3, 2003 2 1:30 Las Cruces, New Mexico, US xWin 6–0 KronvoldRene Kronvold Submission (Armbar) King of the Cage 24: Mayhem 02003-06-14 June 14, 2003 1 3:39 Albuquerque, New Mexico, US xWin 5–0 GuymonMike Guymon Submission (Armbar) King of the Cage 23: Sin City 02003-05-16 May 16, 2003 1 4:57 Las Vegas, Nevada, US xWin 4–0 ShortJake Short TKO (Strikes) King of the Cage 21: Invasion 02003-02-21 February 21, 2003 1 2:34 Albuquerque, New Mexico, US xWin 3–0 RitchShannon Ritch Submission (Rear Naked Choke) King of the Cage 20: Crossroads 02002-12-15 December 15, 2002 1 1:01 Bernalillo, New Mexico, US xWin 2–0 SanchezJesus Sanchez TKO Aztec Challenge 1 02002-09-06 September 6, 2002 1 N/A Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, Mexico xWin 1–0 JohnsonMichael Johnson Submission (Rear Naked Choke) Ring of Fire 5: Predators 02002-06-21 June 21, 2002 N/A N/A Colorado, US
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