Emmanuel Sanchez (born August 11, 1990) is an American mixed martial artist currently in the Lightweight division.
A professional competitor since 2011, Sanchez has formerly competed for Bellator MMA, where he was a contender for the Featherweight World Championship, and Resurrection Fighting Alliance.
Born and raised in a lower-middle-class family of Mexican immigrants, Sanchez wrestled as a kid but did not continue to the high school level in the sport.
He also competed once as a welterweight, in which he suffered his first professional loss against current UFC competitor Lewis Gonzalez.
Sanchez made his promotional debut against Stephen Banaszak at Bellator 128 on October 10, 2014.
[2] In his second fight for the promotion, Sanchez faced Alejandro Villalobos at Bellator 135 on March 27, 2015.
In his highest profile fight to date, Sanchez faced UFC veteran Justin Lawrence on November 6, 2015 at Bellator 145.
As the last fight of his prevailing contract, Sanchez next faced Daniel Pineda on the main card at Bellator 149 on February 19, 2016.
He won the fight by submission due to an arm triangle from the back position in the 1st round.
[14] In the quarterfinals, Sanchez was initially expected to face Daniel Weichel in a rematch in February 2020.
[23] Moving up to Lightweight, Sanchez faced Yancy Medeiros on April 23, 2022 at Bellator 279.