Sherdog’s Top 10: UFC Ironmen
Brian KnappJan 13, 2017
Only Michael Bisping, Frank Mir, Tito Ortiz and Gleison Tibau have made more appearances under the Ultimate Fighting Championship flag than Sanchez. In his 25 outings with the Las Vegas-based promotion, he has amassed five hours, 24 minutes and 23 seconds of fight time.
A former King of the Cage champion, Sanchez was a well-known commodity by the time he reached the UFC as an undefeated 11-0 prospect and won Season 1 of “The Ultimate Fighter” in April 2005. He has since become an organizational mainstay and earned “Fight of the Night” honors on seven different occasions. Sanchez has competed in four different weight classes -- featherweight, lightweight, welterweight and middleweight -- during his tenure, engaging in memorable battles with Nick Diaz, Karo Parisyan, Gilbert Melendez and Clay Guida. The Jackson-Wink MMA rep fought B.J. Penn for the lightweight championship at UFC 107, losing by fifth-round technical knockout. It remains one of only two stoppage losses in his 36-fight career.
Sanchez, 35, last fought at UFC Fight Night 98 on Nov. 5, when he took a three-round decision from Polish leg lock ace Marcin Held in Mexico City.
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