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Former UFC fighter Diego Sanchez has been arrested in New Mexico on allegations of aggravated driving under the influence and violating the terms of his probation, adding another legal complication for the veteran fighter just months after he avoided prison in a felony firearm case.
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The 44-year-old MMA veteran was booked into the Socorro County Jail on Monday, Sept. 7, according to court records that local Albuquerque news outlet KOB 4 obtained in an initial report. The records list aggravated DWI and a probation violation among the charges against him.
Sanchez’s Firearm Case
Sanchez’s probation followed his guilty plea to a fourth-degree felony charge of shooting at or from a motor vehicle. He originally faced an additional misdemeanor charge for negligent use of a deadly weapon, but that charge was dropped as part of the plea agreement.
Sanchez is currently serving five years of supervised probation stemming from a 2025 firearm case, in which Albuquerque police arrested Sanchez after investigating a report that a gun had been fired from a vehicle near a crash on Interstate 40. Police alleged Sanchez was riding as a passenger in a Jeep when he fired a weapon from the vehicle, although Sanchez disputed the allegation at the time.
No one was injured in the 2025 incident, but prosecutors argued that firing a gun from a vehicle on a highway presented a danger to other motorists. Prosecutors subsequently sought a two-year prison sentence for Sanchez before he reached the plea agreement that allowed him to avoid incarceration.
A judge ultimately sentenced Sanchez to five years of supervised probation and 800 hours of community service in March 2026. One of the conditions of his probation was that he abstain from alcohol, making the new aggravated DWI allegation potentially important to the status of his existing sentence.
The latest arrest does not establish that Sanchez violated his probation beyond the charge itself, and any consequences for his existing sentence would depend on subsequent court proceedings. At the time of the latest reports, no bond had been set and Sanchez remained in custody at the Socorro County Jail.
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Diego Sanchez Career
The situation is another setback in the post-fighting life of one of the most recognizable competitors from the early UFC era.
Sanchez became a star after winning the first season of The Ultimate Fighter and went on to build a lengthy career that included a UFC Hall of Fame-recognized fight against Clay Guida.
With a professional record of 30-14, his UFC career included memorable bouts against the likes of Nick Diaz, B.J. Penn, Clay Guida, and Gilbert Melendez, helping establish him as one of the promotion’s most durable and aggressive fighters.
Although Sanchez’s UFC run ended years ago, he continued competing in combat sports afterward. He fought Kevin Lee under the Eagle FC banner in 2022 before making his bare-knuckle debut against former boxing champion Austin Trout at BKFC KnuckleMania 3 in February 2023.
With Sanchez already subject to court-ordered probation, the new aggravated DWI and probation violation allegations could carry even more consequences for the former UFC star.
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This story was originally published September 8, 2026 at 8:32 PM.