Former UFC fighter and Ultimate Fighter winner Diego Sanchez was arrested late Thursday and is alleged to have shot a gun from a vehicle.
KRQE in Albuquerque reports that Sanchez, 43, was a passenger in a Jeep Gladiator and was driving by the scene of an accident on I-40 west when the passenger fired off a round. The police followed the vehicle and arrested both the driver and passenger; the latter being identified as Sanchez.
In the court documents obtained by KRQE, Sanchez denied shooting the gun, but the driver admitted that Sanchez did. The firearm was found in the vehicle with three rounds on the passenger side and a spent casing.
The driver is not facing charges, but Sanchez was booked in the Metropolitan Detention Center and faces a felony charge of shooting at or from a motor vehicle, along with a misdemeanor for negligent use of a firearm.
A representative for Sanchez informed MMA Fighting that Sanchez has been battling substance issues over the past several years and has gone to rehab multiple times.
Sanchez won the first season of The Ultimate Fighter in 2005 and fought in the promotion until 2020. He challenged BJ Penn for the UFC Welterweight Championship in December 2009.
His fight with Clay Guida in June 2009 has been inducted into the Fight Wing of the UFC’s Hall of Fame.
He was the subject of an episode of VICE TV’s Dark Side of the Cage earlier this year.
