Diego Sanchez Gets 30 Days in Jail for Probation Violation

Diego Sanchez is heading to jail. A judge in New Mexico has sentenced the former UFC fighter to 30 days behind bars for violating the terms of his five-year supervised probation, less than a month after he was arrested on a charge of driving while intoxicated.

Judge Stan Whitaker ordered Sanchez to serve the term at the Bernalillo County Metropolitan Detention Center. Once he is released, Sanchez must also complete an inpatient drug and alcohol rehabilitation program. Rather than revoking probation, the judge chose to reinstate it, pointing out that this was the first violation Sanchez had committed since the sentence was imposed.

A warning from the bench

Judge Whitaker also issued a zero-tolerance warning, telling Sanchez that a further violation could activate his full suspended sentence of up to six and a half years in prison. During the hearing he said he did not believe a state prison term was warranted yet, but added that he would have no other choice if Sanchez failed to use the programs offered to him. According to local reports, the 44-year-old is also due to undergo hip surgery, which cannot take place until he has served his time.

The violation stems from an arrest on September 7 in Socorro, New Mexico. Police were called to a gas station after reports of a disturbance and arrested Sanchez at 5:17 p.m. local time on two counts: aggravated driving under the influence and probation violation.

How the case began

The probation itself dates back to March 2026. Sanchez had pleaded guilty to a fourth-degree felony after firing a gun from a moving vehicle along Interstate 40 in Albuquerque in July 2025. In court he admitted the act could have had serious consequences but insisted he never meant to hurt anyone, describing it as a joke and revealing that he was taking medication for a bipolar diagnosis. Prosecutors called his conduct reckless, yet the court opted for supervised probation instead of a prison term.

Before his legal troubles, Sanchez had a long UFC career. He won the middleweight tournament on the first season of The Ultimate Fighter in 2005, later beat Clay Guida by split decision in the main event of The Ultimate Fighter 9 finale in June 2009 and challenged BJ Penn for the lightweight title at UFC 107. His UFC run ended after a loss to Jake Matthews at UFC 253, and a planned 2021 bout with Donald Cerrone never happened. He now has to serve the 30-day term and complete rehabilitation, and another violation could activate the longer suspended sentence.