Ultimate Fighter 1 star Diego Sanchez will serve another 30 days in jail for an aggravated driving violation from early September.
Sanchez was arrested at a gas station in Socorro County, New Mexico in September after police breathalyzed the former UFC fighter and found his blood alcohol content was twice the legal limit. As if that wasn’t bad enough, the arrest triggered a probation violation that could have landed Sanchez in prison for years.
Earlier this year Sanchez pleaded guilty to fire a gun from a moving vehicle in 2025 – a crime. As part of the deal, the 44-year-old man was sentenced to five years of probation. Diego didn’t even make it six months before he was caught driving under the influence. He was jailed without bond on Sept. 7 and has been jailed since then.
Sanchez became a UFC star in 2005 after winning SpikeTV’s first Ultimate Fighter tournament. He remained an entertaining contender in the lightweight division for the next seven years, and then a scrappy midcarder in his waning years. He would fall under its spell charlatan coach at the end of a career that resulted in the UFC unceremoniously releasing him of his contract.
At a hearing on Wednesday, Oct. 7, a judge sentenced Sanchez to an additional 30 days in jail, along with a requirement that he complete a drug and alcohol rehab program. That’s pretty favorable for Diego…the judge could have put him in prison for the entire 6.5 year sentence for the gun crime, but decided to give him another chance.
Let’s hope Diego Sanchez can turn things around as this is the last chance he will likely get.