UFC veteran Diego Sanchez arrested in New Mexico

Diego Sanchez was arrested in Socorro County, New Mexico, on Monday afternoon.

The UFC veteran has had a well-documented, heartbreaking history of struggles outside of his life in the cage. Mental health issues and alleged substance abuse have followed him in his days away from fighting, with a notoriously bad time in his life coming when he was manipulated and used by a self-help guru named Joshua Fabia. Fabia mistreated Sanchez, introducing him to bizarre techniques before the pair eventually parted ways two years into their uncomfortable relationship.

Seemingly over the difficult times, no word had been shared about Diego Sanchez for a little over a year, until earlier this week. On September 7, Sanchez was detained for aggravated driving under the influence and violating probation. News station KOB4 first broke the story after online jail records were released, revealing Sanchez was taken into custody.

While limited public information remains available about the circumstances that led to his arrest, Sanchez was booked at 5:17 PM local time on Monday.

His probation violation stems from an incident dating back to July 2025. Diego Sanchez was arrested for firing a gun out of a moving vehicle in Albuquerque, New Mexico. In March 2026, a judge refused to give the former UFC fighter prison time, instead sentencing him to five years of supervised probation for his crimes.

The lifeline offered by the court was violated just six months into his sentence. Bound by a zero-tolerance agreement that required him to abstain from alcohol, Sanchez knew that the moment he gave in to temptation, he would be violating his agreement, which he did.

Following the arrest, Sanchez faces having his probation overturned, which could result in a lengthy prison sentence. Under New Mexico law, violating supervised probation potentially opens him up to severe penalties.

A recent update revealed that Diego Sanchez’s blood-alcohol level was greater than 0.16—at least twice the legal limit. Denying his bond, authorities have kept him behind bars for his probation breach.