Diego Sanchez
Country of origin:
United States
Height: 5'10"
Weight: 170
Birth date: 1981-12-31
Record: 18-2-0
Profile:
Diego "Nightmare" Sanchez was born December 31, 1981 in New Mexico and is listed as being 5'10". He's a mixed martial artist with a background in wrestling and Gaidojutsu—a system of submission wrestling developed by his longtime trainer Greg Jackson, whose training camp for mixed martial arts fighters is renowned. Sanchez currently fights as a Welterweight with the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
Sanchez began practicing martial arts at age 9 and started wrestling in 6th grade. Sanchez won the state wrestling championship in high school. More than 2 years after graduating high school, Sanchez began training in mixed martial arts at Greg Jackson’s Gaidojutsu.
Sanchez was introduced to most mixed martial arts fans during the first season of the UFC reality show, The Ultimate Fighter. Sanchez was often shown performing unusual meditative exercises alone in the yard of the communal house where the show's competitors resided. In the octagon however, Sanchez won a contract with the UFC after winning a fight against Kenny Florian, becoming the Middleweight winner for the first season of the show. Shortly after Sanchez dropped to Welterweight, defeating Brian Gassaway, Nick Diaz, John Alessio, and Karo Parisyan. His first professional MMA loss came at the hands of Josh Koscheck in the spring of 2007.
Though often regarded as a ground and pound fighter, the majority of Sanchez' wins come via submission.
In the summer of 2007 Diego Sanchez moved from his former training environment in New Mexico under Greg Jackson to San Diego, California.
Fights on MMAPredictions.com:
- Diego Sanchez vs. Luigi Fioravanti in UFC Ultimate Fighter Season 7 Finale
- David Bielkheden lost to Diego Sanchez in UFC 82: Pride of a Champion
- Jon Fitch beat Diego Sanchez in UFC 76: Knockout
- Josh Koscheck beat Diego Sanchez in UFC 69: Shootout
