Diego Sanchez arrested on aggravated DWI charge months after firearm probation deal

Former UFC fighter Diego Sanchez was arrested in Socorro County, New Mexico, on 7 September on charges of aggravated DWI and probation violation, according to court records. He appeared before a judge the following morning after spending the night in jail.

Police were called to a Valero gas station north of Socorro after an employee reported that a man had followed a woman to a restroom and was banging on the door. Officers found Sanchez stumbling upon arrival and began field sobriety testing, but stopped the assessment because they were concerned for his safety. The complaint states he struggled to maintain his balance and had difficulty following instructions.

The arrest comes just months after Sanchez received five years of supervised probation in March, following a guilty plea in connection with a 2025 Albuquerque traffic incident. In that case, investigators said he fired a gun into the air while stuck in traffic and shouted, “I love Albuquerque. I love 505.”

At his sentencing hearing for that earlier case, Sanchez addressed the court directly. “All I can do is take accountability, own it, you know, and spread positivity to the youth and the next generation to change these ways,” he said.

Court records allege that Sanchez subsequently violated the conditions of his probation, including through a 16 June test that returned positive results for both alcohol and cocaine. The September arrest added a formal probation violation booking to the aggravated DWI charge.

Sanchez, 42, is best known as the winner of the first season of The Ultimate Fighter in 2005 and went on to compete in the UFC for over 15 years before his release from the promotion in 2021.