Diego Sanchez, the inaugural winner of The Ultimate Fighter and a distinguished former UFC fighter, received a five-year supervised probation sentence from an Albuquerque judge this Thursday.
This penalty is a consequence of an event in July 2025, where the renowned professional mixed martial artist discharged a firearm into the air from a Jeep amidst traffic in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
In February, Sanchez admitted guilt to a felony charge following his apprehension near I-40 and University. Prosecutors indicated that he had fired the weapon while driving past a traffic accident.
According to a report from KOB 4, Sanchez stated in court, “People do make mistakes, you know, this is Albuquerque, the wild wild west, I made a bad mistake.”
Prosecutors had requested a two-year prison sentence, though the legal maximum punishment for the offense is six and a half years.
Sanchez remarked, “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. Not to be shooting out cows– shooting out windows like cowboys.”
