Former UFC fighter Diego Sanchez arrested on two gun-related accounts in New Mexico
According to an arrest record acquired by MMA Fighting, the 43-year-old was taken in at 12:01 a.m. and booked for shooting at or from a motor vehicle (no great bodily harm), a fourth-degree felony, and negligent use of a deadly weapon (discharge), a misdemeanor.
Sanchez reportedly leaned out of a passenger side window and shot a firearm into the air. After police followed the vehicle and arrested Sanchez, who denied firing the gun, but he admitted that the firearm was in the car.
The driver is not facing charges but told the authorities that Sanchez fired the gun. Sanchez was also laughing while being probed by the officers, according to MMA Fighting.
Sanchez won Season 7 of The Ultimate Fighter reality show by earning a split decision over Clay Guida in 2009. He remained in the organization until 2020. He ended his MMA career on a loss against Kevin Lee in Eagle Fighting Championship and walked away with a 30-14 record.
Sanchez tallied seven Fight of the Night bonuses in his UFC tenure. His fight against Guida was also inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame in 2019.
At the tail end of his career, Lopez worked with and had a fallout with Joshua Fabia, the founder of the infamous School of Self-Awareness. Fabia's bizarre training methods included chasing students around a cage with a knife and punching Sanchez on the head while hanging upside down. The two parted ways in 2021 when Sanchez paid Fabia $100,000 for his "freedom." The transaction was filmed and posted online.
Following his arrest on Friday, Sanchez's representative, Ricky Kottenstette, told MMA Fighting that he has been struggling with substance abuse and went into rehabilitation on several occasions to seek treatment.
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