Diego Sanchez is in some hot water as he finds himself in custody following an arrest on a pair of gun-related charges. This all transpired in the early hours of Friday Morning in Albuquerque, with arrest records from this New Mexico situation obtained by MMA Fighting. The two charges that the former UFC lightweight title challenger faces are tied to negligent use of a deadly weapon, which is a misdemeanor, as well as shooting at or from a motor vehicle with no great bodily harm, but this is still a fourth-degree felony. The information related to these charges came from arrest records.
Further details indicate that Sanchez was the passenger in the car and leaned out, firing a shot into the air. Although denying firing the shot, Sanchez did admit there was a gun inside the vehicle when police pulled over the car. The driver of the vehicle will not be facing any charges, and described a scenario where the former UFC combatant fired a gun while in the passenger seat, with Sanchez laughing at a certain juncture while speaking to the police on-scene.
A representative of Sanchez, Ricky Kottenstette, gave a statement to MMA Fighting regarding Sanchez dealing with substance abuse issues in recent years, with some stints in rehab in his past.
Diego Sanchez and his life path in recent years
Diego Sanchez has been on a bit of a rough stretch both personally and professionally since leaving the UFC in September 2020. After losing to Jake Matthews via unanimous decision at UFC 253, there were some talks about a May 2021 clash for Sanchez with fellow tenured octagon warrior, Donald Cerrone. Sanchez would end up withdrawing from the bout, and some reported tension involving the UFC and Sanchez’s then-confidante Joshua Fabia seemingly led to the UFC departure for ‘The Nightmare.
Since then, Sanchez dropped a spirited UD to Kevin Lee under the Eagle FC banner, and he also lost his bare knuckle debut as Sanchez did battle with eventual BKFC welterweight champion Austin Trout at BKFC KnuckleMania 3. A boxing bout against fellow former UFC vet John Makdessi was targeted for April of this year at an event called ICS Mania 1 with the card eventually being scrapped altogether.
