Diego Sanchez Arrested on Aggravated DWI While Serving Alcohol-Free Probation

Diego Sanchez is back in custody in New Mexico only months after avoiding prison in a felony gun case.

The retired UFC fighter was arrested Monday, September 7, by Socorro City Police and booked into the Socorro County Jail. Booking information lists aggravated driving while intoxicated and a probation violation, according to TMZ .

The new alcohol allegation comes while Sanchez is serving five years of supervised probation stemming from a 2025 case in which he pleaded guilty to shooting from a motor vehicle. One of the conditions attached to his supervision bars him from using alcohol.

Sanchez avoided prison when the gun case was resolved earlier this year after prosecutors had asked the judge to incarcerate him. The September arrest now leaves him facing the new DWI allegation as well as a reported violation of the probation that kept him out of prison.

Records List an Alcohol Concentration Above .16

Sanchez, 44, was booked at approximately 5:17 p.m. Monday. Court and booking information reviewed by MMA Fighting lists an alcohol concentration greater than .16 in connection with the aggravated DWI allegation.

New Mexico law defines aggravated DWI to include driving with an alcohol concentration of .16 or higher within three hours of driving when the alcohol was consumed before or while operating the vehicle. The threshold is twice the state's standard .08 limit for adult drivers.

The first reports did not explain why officers encountered Sanchez, where he was reportedly driving, what type of chemical test produced the listed alcohol concentration or whether anyone else was in the vehicle. No crash or injury connected with the arrest had been reported when the initial accounts were published, and Sanchez has not been convicted of the new allegations.

Sanchez Avoided Prison in His 2025 Gun Case

The probation stems from Sanchez's July 2025 arrest in Albuquerque. Police said he was riding in the passenger seat of a Jeep traveling past a crash scene near Interstate 40 and University Boulevard when he fired a gun from the vehicle. No one was injured.

Sanchez initially denied firing the weapon, but he later pleaded guilty in February 2026 to a fourth-degree felony charge of shooting at or from a motor vehicle. ESPN reported that prosecutors sought two years in prison when he was sentenced in March.

The judge instead imposed five years of supervised probation and 800 hours of community service. KOB reported that Sanchez told the court he had been working on sobriety and treatment before sentencing. Conditions imposed during the earlier case included restrictions on alcohol and drugs, and the new booking lists a probation violation alongside the aggravated DWI allegation.

The New Arrest Could Put His Probation at Risk

Probation allows Sanchez to serve his sentence in the community as long as he follows the conditions imposed by the court and supervision authorities. KOB reported after his March sentencing that violations could expose him to incarceration, although what action will be taken after the new arrest will be decided through the court and probation process.

The arrest comes years after Sanchez's run as one of the UFC's best-known fighters. He won the first season of The Ultimate Fighter in 2005, challenged B.J. Penn for the UFC lightweight championship in 2009 and later saw his 2009 fight against Clay Guida inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame's Fight Wing.

Sanchez's final UFC appearance came in 2020. He later returned to competition outside the promotion, including an MMA bout in 2022 and a bare-knuckle boxing match against Austin Trout in 2023.

As of MMA Fighting's September 8 report, Sanchez remained in the Socorro County Jail and no bond had been set. The aggravated DWI and probation violation allegations now proceed while his five-year supervised probation from the gun case remains in effect.