Diego Sanchez (born December 31, 1981) is an American professional mixed martial artist who currently competes on the Super Lightweight division of Eagle Fighting Championship.

Sanchez has been involved in more "Fight of the Year" bouts than any other fighter in mixed martial arts; his first was against Karo Parisyan at UFC Fight Night 6, and then again against Clay Guida at The Ultimate Fighter 9 Finale (which culminated into a title shot against then-UFC Lightweight Champion B.J.

[citation needed] Sanchez was a high school state champion in wrestling as a senior before he started training mixed martial arts while working for UPS.

He won a contract with the UFC after defeating fellow finalist Kenny Florian via TKO, 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".

Sanchez made his post-TUF debut defeating journeyman Brian Gassaway by submission due to strikes at UFC 54 on August 20, 2005.

[7] Sanchez continued his undefeated streak with a unanimous decision victory over judo specialist Karo Parisyan at UFC Fight Night 6 on August 17, 2006.

Sanchez faced Joe Riggs on December 13, 2006, in the main event of UFC Fight Night 7.

Koscheck managed to keep Sanchez at bay with superior hand speed and footwork until the bout timed out, to take the win 30–27 on all three judges' cards.

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.

Following the win, Sanchez stopped 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.

[14] 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.

[17] Diego credits Tony Robbins for giving him mental preparation for this latest fight, and was seen entering the bout chanting "Yes!"

[19] 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.

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.

Early in the fifth round, Penn landed a head kick that caused a large cut to be opened up on the forehead of Sanchez.

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.

The rest of the 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.

[51] However, Parke pulled out of the bout in early October citing a knee injury and was replaced by Joe Lauzon.

[56] After the one fight stint at featherweight, Sanchez returned to the lightweight division and faced Jim Miller on March 5, 2016, at UFC 196.

[60] Sanchez fought promotional newcomer Marcin Held on November 5, 2016, at The Ultimate Fighter Latin America 3 Finale.

[64] Sanchez faced Matt Brown in a welterweight bout on November 11, 2017 at UFC Fight Night: Poirier vs.

[75] Sanchez was suspended for three months by USADA after testing positive for Ostarine and S-23, the family of selective androgen receptor modulators (SARMs), where the prohibited substance was found from a tainted supplement.

[76] As the first bout of his new five-fight contract, Sanchez returned to the octagon when he faced Michel Pereira at UFC Fight Night 167 on February 15, 2020 in Rio Rancho, New Mexico.

[77][78] After being dominated through the bout, he eventually won the fight via disqualification after Pereira landed an illegal knee on the ground in the third round, which rendered Sanchez unable to continue.

Among his claims were that the UFC was aiming cameras at him to catch him and Sanchez in bad situations, or otherwise expose Fabia's unorthodox coaching style.

[99] Sanchez was booked to compete against fellow MMA veteran Jake Shields in a grappling match at High Rollerz 4.

After being medically cleared to compete by the New Mexico Athletic Commission, he faced former WBA super welterweight champion Austin Trout at BKFC: KnuckleMania 3 on February 17, 2023.

[105] At the "JacksonWink MMA Fight Night 2" exhibition event on December 1, 2017, Sanchez faced Isaac "The Shermanator" Marquez, a man who was born with Down syndrome who dreamed of one day competing in a real mixed martial arts bout.