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Andrew William Sanchez (born April 8, 1988) is an American professional mixed martial artist who competes in the Light heavyweight division. A professional competitor since 2012, he has formerly competed for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), Professional Fighters League (PFL), and Resurrection Fighting Alliance.

Background

Sanchez started training in various forms of martial arts as a teenager. He was a two-time national championship wrestler at McKendree University and was named the 2011 NAIA Wrestler of the Year. He graduated in 2011 with a degree in sociology.

Mixed martial arts career

Sanchez began fighting professionally in 2012 where he compiled a record of 7–2 on the regional circuit.

The Ultimate Fighter

He was added as one of the 16 Light Heavyweight fighters invited to the cast The Ultimate Fighter 23.

He won his entry fight against Phil Hawes via unanimous decision. Next up, he defeated Myron Dennis via unanimous decision.

In the semifinals, he defeated Eric Spicely by knockout in the first round.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Sanchez made his promotional debut on July 8, 2016, at UFC The Ultimate Fighter 23 Finale in the Light Heavyweight finals against Khalil Rountree. He won the one-sided fight via unanimous decision with the score card of (30-25, 30–25, 30–26).

Sanchez next faced Trevor Smith in a middleweight bout on December 9, 2016, at UFC Fight Night 102. He won the fight by unanimous decision.

Sanchez faced Anthony Smith on April 15, 2017, at UFC on Fox 24. He lost the fight via knockout due to a combination of knee and punches in the third round.

Sanchez faced Ryan Janes on December 1, 2017, at The Ultimate Fighter 26 Finale. He lost the fight via TKO in the third round.

Sanchez was expected to face Antonio Braga Neto on August 25, 2018, at UFC Fight Night 135. However, Neto was removed from the bout on August 2 for undisclosed personal issues and replaced by Markus Perez. Sanchez won the fight via unanimous decision.

Sanchez faced promotional newcomer Marc-André Barriault on May 4, 2019, at UFC Fight Night 151. He won the fight via unanimous decision.

Sanchez was scheduled to face David Branch on September 14, 2019, at UFC on ESPN+ 16. However, it was reported that Branch was forced to pull from the event due to injury and he was replaced by Marvin Vettori. However, it was reported that Sanchez was forced to pull from the event due to an eye infection, resulting in the cancellation of the bout. In turn, the pairing was left intact and eventually took place a month later at UFC on ESPN+ 19. Sanchez lost the fight via unanimous decision.

Sanchez was scheduled to face Zak Cummings on April 25, 2020. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, UFC president Dana White announced on April 9 that the event was indefinitely postponed.

Sanchez faced Wellington Turman on August 8, 2020, at UFC Fight Night 174. He won the fight via knockout in the first round. This win earned him the Performance of the Night award.

Sanchez was scheduled to face André Muniz on January 24, 2021 at UFC 257. In late December, Muniz withdrew due to an injury and he was replaced by Makhmud Muradov. Sanchez lost the fight via technical knockout in round three.

Sanchez faced Bruno Silva on October 16, 2021, at UFC Fight Night 195. Sanchez lost the fight via technical knockout in round three.

On October 28, 2021, it was announced that Sanchez was no longer on the UFC roster.

Post UFC

Sanchez faced Gabriel Checco on May 20, 2022, at Eagle FC 47. He won the fight via unanimous decision.

Professional Fighters League

Stepping in for a suspended fighter, Sanchez entered the 2023 season against Taylor Johnson on June 8, 2023 at PFL 4. He won the fight via split decision.

Sanchez was scheduled to face Karl Albrektsson, replacing Ibragim Chuzhigaev on June 21, 2024, at PFL 5. Subsequently, Sanchez stepped in to face 2022 PFL welterweight winner Sadibou Sy after Tom Breese withdrew at the last minute and the bout against Albrektsson was cancelled. He lost the fight via TKO in the third round.

Championships and accomplishments

Professional titles

• Ultimate Fighting Championship
  • The Ultimate Fighter 23 Light Heavyweight Tournament Winner
  • Performance of the Night (One time) vs Wellington Turman

Mixed martial arts record

See also

• List of male mixed martial artists

References

1. ^ "Andrew Sanchez". ufc.com. Retrieved May 31, 2017.
2. Mixed martial arts show results Date: August 8, 2020
3. Damon Martin (April 6, 2016). "Cast revealed for 'The Ultimate Fighter: Team Joanna vs. Team Claudia'". foxsports.com. Retrieved April 6, 2016.
4. Mike Bohn (April 20, 2016). "Episode No. 1 recap: 'The Ultimate Fighter 23: Team Joanna vs. Team Claudia'". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved April 20, 2016.
5. Sherdog.com. "'TUF 23' Recap: Episode 4". Sherdog. Retrieved May 5, 2021.
6. "Episode No. 10 recap: 'The Ultimate Fighter 23: Team Joanna vs. Team Claudia'". MMA Junkie. June 23, 2016. Retrieved May 5, 2021.
7. Staff (July 6, 2016). "Friday's TUF 23 Finale lineup set with Rountree-Sanchez, Cooper-Suarez tourney finals". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved July 6, 2016.
8. "'El Dirte' Dominates Rountree, Win TUF 23 Final". MMAmania.com. Retrieved July 1, 2017.
9. "Andrew Sanchez suffocates Khalil Rountree in shutout victory | FOX Sports". FOX Sports. July 9, 2016. Retrieved July 1, 2017.
10. Staff (October 20, 2016). "'El Dirte' vs. 'Hot Sauce': Andrew Sanchez vs. Trevor Smith set for UFC Fight Night 102". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved October 20, 2016.
11. Ben Fowlkes (December 9, 2016). "UFC Fight Night 102 results: Andrew Sanchez tags Trevor Smith early, earns clean sweep on cards". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved December 9, 2016.
12. Staff (February 11, 2017). "UFC heads to Kansas City for first time for UFC on FOX 24". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved February 11, 2017.
13. Steven Marrocco (April 15, 2017). "UFC on FOX 24 results: Anthony Smith turns tables on Andrew Sanchez late, wins by KO". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved April 15, 2017.
14. Tristen Critchfield (August 30, 2017). "Andrew Sanchez vs. Ryan Janes booked for 'TUF 26' Finale on Dec. 1". sherdog.com. Retrieved August 30, 2017.
15. "TUF 26 Finale results: Ryan Janes survives near finish, TKOs Andrew Sanchez in third". MMAjunkie. December 2, 2017. Retrieved December 2, 2017.
16. DNA, MMA. "TUF 23 winnaar Andrew Sanchez treft Antonio Braga Neto tijdens UFC Lincoln". mmadna.nl. Retrieved May 4, 2018.
17. Marcel Dorff (August 2, 2018). "Markus Perez replaces Antonio Braga Neto against Andrew Sanchez at UFC Lincoln" (in Dutch). mmadna.nl. Retrieved August 2, 2018.
18. "UFC Fight Night 135 results: Andrew Sanchez tops animated Markus Perez by decision". MMAjunkie. August 26, 2018. Retrieved August 26, 2018.
19. Jesse Holland (February 20, 2019). "UFC Ottawa official for May 4 on ESPN+". mmamania.com. Retrieved February 20, 2019.
20. Bitter, Shawn (May 4, 2019). "UFC Ottawa Results: Andrew Sanchez Earns Decision Win Over Marc-Andre Barriault". Cageside Press. Retrieved May 5, 2019.
21. "David Branch vs. Andrew Sanchez set for ESPN+ 16". MMA Junkie. June 13, 2019. Retrieved June 14, 2019.
22. DNA, MMA. "David Branch haakt geblesseerd af voor gevecht tegen Andrew Sanchez tijdens UFC Vancouver". Retrieved August 2, 2019.
23. "Andrew Sanchez vs. Marvin Vettori pulled from UFC on ESPN+ 16 due to illness". MMA Junkie. September 11, 2019. Retrieved September 12, 2019.
24. Farah Hannoun (September 12, 2019). "Andrew Sanchez: Eye infection forced me off UFC Vancouver; Marvin Vettori fight rebooked". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved September 12, 2019.
25. Shillan, Keith (October 12, 2019). "UFC Tampa Results: Marvin Vettori Wins Grudge Match Against Andrew Sanchez". Cageside Press. Retrieved October 13, 2019.
26. Alexander K. Lee (January 24, 2020). "Anthony Smith to fight Glover Teixeira in UFC Lincoln main event, four other fights added". mmafighting. Retrieved January 25, 2020.
27. Damon Martin (April 9, 2020). "UFC 249, upcoming events postponed due to coronavirus pandemic, Dana White promises 'Fight Island' will proceed". mmafighting.com. Retrieved April 9, 2020.
28. Marcelo Barone (June 18, 2020). "In search of his second UFC win, Wellington Turman faces Andrew Sanchez in August". sportv.globo.com. Retrieved June 18, 2020. (in Portuguese)
29. Evanoff, Josh (August 8, 2020). "UFC Vegas 6 Results: Andrew Sanchez Flatlines Wellington Turman". Cageside Press. Retrieved August 9, 2020.
30. ^ Ryan Galloway (August 9, 2020). "UFC Fight Night: Lewis Vs. Oleinik Bonuses". lowkickmma.com. Retrieved August 9, 2020.
31. DNA, MMA (November 19, 2020). "Drie nieuwe gevechten toegevoegd aan verschillende UFC evenementen". MMA DNA. Retrieved November 19, 2020.
32. Richard Wagner (December 24, 2020). "Fight in the same event as McGregor! Who will the Czech/Uzbek oppose?". sport.tn.nova.cz. Archived from the original on April 16, 2021. Retrieved December 24, 2020. (in Czech)
33. Anderson, Jay (January 23, 2021). "UFC 257 Results: Makhmud Muradov Shocks Andrew Sanchez for 14th Straight Win". Cageside Press. Retrieved January 24, 2021.
34. DNA, MMA (August 25, 2021). "The Ultimate Fighter winnaar Andrew Sanchez treft Bruno Silva op 16 oktober". MMA DNA. Retrieved August 26, 2021.
35. Evanoff, Josh (October 16, 2021). "UFC Vegas 40 Results: Bruno Silva Completes Comeback, Stops Andrew Sanchez". Cageside Press. Retrieved October 17, 2021.
36. Martin, Damon (October 28, 2021). "TUF 23 champion Andrew Sanchez released from the UFC". MMA Fighting. Retrieved October 28, 2021.
37. "Alexandre 'Capitão' encara ex-UFC em estreia no evento de Khabib Nurmagomedov". ESPN.com (in Portuguese). March 28, 2022. Retrieved April 26, 2022.
38. Al-Shatti, Shaun (May 20, 2022). "Eagle FC 47 results: Junior dos Santos injures shoulder, Hector Lombard vs. Thiago Silva ends in no contest". MMA Fighting. Retrieved May 22, 2022.
39. Lee, Alexander K. (May 12, 2023). "PFL announces second-half event lineups following 9 fighters receiving drug test suspensions". MMA Fighting. Retrieved May 14, 2023.
40. "PFL 4 results: Jesus Pinedo stuns Brendan Loughnane with first-round knockout". MMAFighting. June 9, 2023. Retrieved June 9, 2023.
41. "Changes hit PFL's Utah debut: Salt Lake City gets 'El Dirte' Sanchez". MMA Junkie. May 22, 2024. Retrieved May 23, 2024.
42. Staff (June 21, 2024). "2024 PFL 5: Collard vs. Burnell Full Results". Cageside Press. Retrieved June 21, 2024.
43. "Sadibou Sy's speed and kicks on display en route to a last-minute finish". pflmma.com. Retrieved August 4, 2024.
44. Sherdog.com. "Andrew". Sherdog. Retrieved October 12, 2019.

External links

• Andrew Sanchez at UFC
• Professional MMA record for Andrew Sanchez from Sherdog

• 1988 births
• Living people
• American male mixed martial artists
• Light heavyweight mixed martial artists
• Middleweight mixed martial artists
• Mixed martial artists utilizing collegiate wrestling
• Mixed martial artists from Illinois
• McKendree University alumni
• Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters
• American male sport wrestlers
• Amateur wrestlers