Andrew Sanchez
Other namesEl Dirte
Birth nameAndrew Sanchez
Birth dateApril 8, 1988 (age 38)
Birth placeShiloh, Illinois, United States
Height6 ft 1 in
Weight205 lb (93 kg; 14.6 st)
Weight classMiddleweight
Light Heavyweight
Reach in73[1]
StanceOrthodox
Fighting out ofSt. Louis, Missouri, United States
TeamTristar Gym
Years active2012–present
Mma kowin6
Mma subwin2
Mma decwin6
Mma koloss7
Mma decloss2
UniversityMcKendree University
Sherdog105321

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.[1]

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.[1]

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.[2]

He won his entry fight against Phil Hawes via unanimous decision.[3] Next up, he defeated Myron Dennis via unanimous decision.[4]

In the semifinals, he defeated Eric Spicely by knockout in the first round.[5]

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.[6] He won the one-sided fight via unanimous decision with the score card of (30-25, 30–25, 30–26).[7][8]

Sanchez next faced Trevor Smith in a middleweight bout on December 9, 2016, at UFC Fight Night 102.[9] He won the fight by unanimous decision.[10]

Sanchez faced Anthony Smith on April 15, 2017, at UFC on Fox 24.[11] He lost the fight via knockout due to a combination of knee and punches in the third round.[12]

Sanchez faced Ryan Janes on December 1, 2017, at The Ultimate Fighter 26 Finale.[13] He lost the fight via TKO in the third round.[14]

Sanchez was expected to face Antonio Braga Neto on August 25, 2018, at UFC Fight Night 135.[15] However, Neto was removed from the bout on August 2 for undisclosed personal issues and replaced by Markus Perez.[16] Sanchez won the fight via unanimous decision.[17]

Sanchez faced promotional newcomer Marc-André Barriault on May 4, 2019, at UFC Fight Night 151.[18] He won the fight via unanimous decision.[19]

Sanchez was scheduled to face David Branch on September 14, 2019, at UFC on ESPN+ 16.[20] However, it was reported that Branch was forced to pull from the event due to injury and he was replaced by Marvin Vettori.[21] 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.[22] In turn, the pairing was left intact and eventually took place a month later at UFC on ESPN+ 19.[23] Sanchez lost the fight via unanimous decision.[24]

Sanchez was scheduled to face Zak Cummings on April 25, 2020.[25] Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, UFC president Dana White announced on April 9 that the event was indefinitely postponed.[26]

Sanchez faced Wellington Turman on August 8, 2020, at UFC Fight Night 174.[27] He won the fight via knockout in the first round.[28] This win earned him the Performance of the Night award.[29]

Sanchez was scheduled to face André Muniz on January 24, 2021 at UFC 257.[30] In late December, Muniz withdrew due to an injury and he was replaced by Makhmud Muradov.[31] Sanchez lost the fight via technical knockout in round three.[32]

Sanchez faced Bruno Silva on October 16, 2021, at UFC Fight Night 195.[33] Sanchez lost the fight via technical knockout in round three.[34]

On October 28, 2021, it was announced that Sanchez was no longer on the UFC roster.[35]

Eagle Fighting Championship

Sanchez faced Gabriel Checco on May 20, 2022, at Eagle FC 47.[36] He won the fight via unanimous decision.[37]

Professional Fighters League

Stepping in for a suspended fighter, Sanchez entered the 2023 season against Taylor Johnson on June 8, 2023 at PFL 4.[38] He won the fight via split decision.[39]

Sanchez was scheduled to face Karl Albrektsson, replacing Ibragim Chuzhigaev on June 21, 2024, at PFL 5.[40] 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.[41] He lost the fight via TKO in the third round.[42]

Sanchez faced Impa Kasanganay on August 21, 2025, at PFL 10. He lost the bout via technical knockout in the third round.[43]

Championships and accomplishments

Professional titles

Mixed martial arts record

|- |Loss |align=center|14–9 |Impa Kasanganay |TKO (punches) |PFL 10 (2025) |August 21, 2025 |align=center|3 |align=center|4:31 |Hollywood, Florida, United States |Return to Middleweight. |- |Loss |align=center|14–8 |Sadibou Sy |TKO (punches) |PFL 5 (2024) |June 21, 2024 |align=center|3 |align=center|4:02 |Salt Lake City, Utah, United States | |- |Win |align=center|14–7 |Taylor Johnson |Decision (split) |PFL 4 (2023) |June 8, 2023 |align=center|3 |align=center|5:00 |Atlanta, Georgia, United States |Johnson was deducted one point in round 1 due to an illegal knee. |- |Win |align=center|13–7 |Gabriel Checco |Decision (unanimous) |Eagle FC 47 |May 20, 2022 |align=center|3 |align=center|5:00 |Miami, Florida, United States |Return to Light Heavyweight. |- |Loss |align=center|12–7 |Bruno Silva |TKO (punches) |UFC Fight Night: Ladd vs. Dumont |October 16, 2021 |align=center|3 |align=center|2:35 |Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |- |Loss |align=center|12–6 |Makhmud Muradov |TKO (flying knee and punches) |UFC 257 |January 24, 2021 |align=center|3 |align=center|2:59 |Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates | |- |Win |align=center|12–5 |Wellington Turman |KO (punch) |UFC Fight Night: Lewis vs. Oleinik |August 8, 2020 |align=center|1 |align=center|4:14 |Las Vegas, Nevada, United States |Performance of the Night. |- |Loss |align=center|11–5 |Marvin Vettori |Decision (unanimous) |UFC Fight Night: Joanna vs. Waterson |October 12, 2019 |align=center|3 |align=center|5:00 |Tampa, Florida, United States | |- |Win |align=center|11–4 |Marc-André Barriault |Decision (unanimous) |UFC Fight Night: Iaquinta vs. Cowboy |May 4, 2019 |align=center|3 |align=center|5:00 |Ottawa, Ontario, Canada | |- |Win |align=center|10–4 |Markus Perez |Decision (unanimous) |UFC Fight Night: Gaethje vs. Vick |August 25, 2018 |align=center|3 |align=center|5:00 |Lincoln, Nebraska, United States | |- |Loss |align=center|9–4 |Ryan Janes |TKO (punches) |The Ultimate Fighter: A New World Champion Finale |December 1, 2017 |align=center|3 |align=center|0:59 |Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |- |Loss |align=center|9–3 |Anthony Smith |KO (head kick and punches) |UFC on Fox: Johnson vs. Reis |April 9, 2017 |align=center|3 |align=center|3:52 |Kansas City, Missouri, United States | |- |Win |align=center|9–2 |Trevor Smith |Decision (unanimous) |UFC Fight Night: Lewis vs. Abdurakhimov |December 9, 2016 |align=center|3 |align=center|5:00 |Albany, New York, United States |Return to Middleweight. |- |Win |align=center|8–2 |Khalil Rountree Jr. |Decision (unanimous) |The Ultimate Fighter: Team Joanna vs. Team Cláudia Finale |July 8, 2016 |align=center|3 |align=center|5:00 |Las Vegas, Nevada, United States |Won The Ultimate Fighter 23 Light Heavyweight Tournament. |- | Win | align=center| 7–2 | John Poppie | TKO (spinning back fist and punches) | RFA 28 | August 7, 2015 | align=center| 3 | align=center| 1:53 |St. Louis, Missouri, United States |Won the vacant RFA Middleweight Championship. |- | Win | align=center| 6–2 | Clinton Williams | TKO (punches) | RFA 26 | June 5, 2015 | align=center| 2 | align=center| 1:17 |Broomfield, Colorado, United States | |- | Loss | align=center| 5–2 | Kevin Casey | KO (punches) | RFA 15 | June 6, 2014 | align=center| 1 | align=center| 2:30 |Los Angeles, California, United States |For the vacant RFA Middleweight Championship. |- | Win | align=center| 5–1 | Miles Marshall | TKO (punches) | RFA 13 | March 7, 2014 | align=center| 2 | align=center| 1:25 |Lincoln, Nebraska, United States | |- | Win | align=center| 4–1 | Todd Meredith | TKO (punches) | RFA 11 | November 22, 2013 | align=center| 1 | align=center| 1:51 |Broomfield, Colorado, United States | |- | Loss | align=center| 3–1 | Dustin Jacoby | Decision (split) | Capital City Cage Wars: The Uprising | March 2, 2013 | align=center| 3 | align=center| 5:00 |Springfield, Illinois, United States | |- | Win | align=center| 3–0 | Thomas Jones | TKO (punches) | TTP: Tommy Tran Promotions | November 17, 2012 | align=center| 1 | align=center| 2:57 |Branson, Missouri, United States | |- | Win | align=center| 2–0 | Darryl Cobb | Submission (rear-naked choke) | FHMMA: Fight Hard MMA | August 18, 2012 | align=center| 1 | align=center| 4:33 |St. Charles, Missouri, United States | |- | Win | align=center| 1–0 | Edward Smith | Submission (rear-naked choke) | CC 38: Cage Championships 38 | June 23, 2012 | align=center| 1 | align=center| 1:42 |Sullivan, Missouri, United States |

[45]

|- |Win |align=center|3–0 |Eric Spicely |KO (punches) |rowspan=3|The Ultimate Fighter: Team Joanna vs. Team Cláudia |March 1, 2016 |align=center|1 |align=center|0:47 |rowspan=3|Las Vegas, Nevada, United States |The Ultimate Fighter 23 Semifinal round. |- |Win |align=center|2–0 |Myron Dennis |Decision (unanimous) |February 9, 2016 |align=center|2 |align=center|5:00 |The Ultimate Fighter 23 Quarterfinal round. |- |Win |align=center|1–0 |Phil Hawes |Decision (unanimous) |January 26, 2016 |align=center|2 |align=center|5:00 |The Ultimate Fighter 23 Elimination round |-

See also

References

  1. ^ "Andrew Sanchez". UFC. Retrieved 2017-05-31.
  2. ^ Damon Martin (2016-04-06). "Cast revealed for 'The Ultimate Fighter: Team Joanna vs. Team Claudia'". foxsports.com. Retrieved 2016-04-06.
  3. ^ Mike Bohn (2016-04-20). "Episode No. 1 recap: 'The Ultimate Fighter 23: Team Joanna vs. Team Claudia'". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2016-04-20.
  4. ^ Sherdog.com. "'TUF 23' Recap: Episode 4". Sherdog. Retrieved 2021-05-05.
  5. ^ "Episode No. 10 recap: 'The Ultimate Fighter 23: Team Joanna vs. Team Claudia'". MMA Junkie. 2016-06-23. Retrieved 2021-05-05.
  6. ^ Staff (2016-07-06). "Friday's TUF 23 Finale lineup set with Rountree-Sanchez, Cooper-Suarez tourney finals". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2016-07-06.
  7. ^ "'El Dirte' Dominates Rountree, Win TUF 23 Final". MMAmania.com. Retrieved 2017-07-01.
  8. ^ "Andrew Sanchez suffocates Khalil Rountree in shutout victory | FOX Sports". FOX Sports. 2016-07-09. Retrieved 2017-07-01.
  9. ^ Staff (2016-10-20). "'El Dirte' vs. 'Hot Sauce': Andrew Sanchez vs. Trevor Smith set for UFC Fight Night 102". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2016-10-20.
  10. ^ Ben Fowlkes (2016-12-09). "UFC Fight Night 102 results: Andrew Sanchez tags Trevor Smith early, earns clean sweep on cards". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2016-12-09.
  11. ^ Staff (2017-02-11). "UFC heads to Kansas City for first time for UFC on FOX 24". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2017-02-11.
  12. ^ Steven Marrocco (2017-04-15). "UFC on FOX 24 results: Anthony Smith turns tables on Andrew Sanchez late, wins by KO". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2017-04-15.
  13. ^ Tristen Critchfield (2017-08-30). "Andrew Sanchez vs. Ryan Janes booked for 'TUF 26' Finale on Dec. 1". sherdog.com. Retrieved 2017-08-30.
  14. ^ "TUF 26 Finale results: Ryan Janes survives near finish, TKOs Andrew Sanchez in third". MMAjunkie. 2017-12-02. Retrieved 2017-12-02.
  15. ^ DNA, MMA. "TUF 23 winnaar Andrew Sanchez treft Antonio Braga Neto tijdens UFC Lincoln". mmadna.nl. Retrieved 2018-05-04.
  16. ^ Marcel Dorff (2018-08-02). "Markus Perez replaces Antonio Braga Neto against Andrew Sanchez at UFC Lincoln" (in Dutch). mmadna.nl. Retrieved 2018-08-02.
  17. ^ "UFC Fight Night 135 results: Andrew Sanchez tops animated Markus Perez by decision". MMAjunkie. 2018-08-26. Retrieved 2018-08-26.
  18. ^ Jesse Holland (2019-02-20). "UFC Ottawa official for May 4 on ESPN+". mmamania.com. Retrieved 2019-02-20.
  19. ^ Bitter, Shawn (2019-05-04). "UFC Ottawa Results: Andrew Sanchez Earns Decision Win Over Marc-Andre Barriault". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2019-05-05.
  20. ^ "David Branch vs. Andrew Sanchez set for ESPN+ 16". MMA Junkie. 2019-06-13. Retrieved 2019-06-14.
  21. ^ DNA, MMA. "David Branch haakt geblesseerd af voor gevecht tegen Andrew Sanchez tijdens UFC Vancouver". Retrieved 2019-08-02.
  22. ^ "Andrew Sanchez vs. Marvin Vettori pulled from UFC on ESPN+ 16 due to illness". MMA Junkie. 2019-09-11. Retrieved 2019-09-12.
  23. ^ Farah Hannoun (2019-09-12). "Andrew Sanchez: Eye infection forced me off UFC Vancouver; Marvin Vettori fight rebooked". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2019-09-12.
  24. ^ Shillan, Keith (2019-10-12). "UFC Tampa Results: Marvin Vettori Wins Grudge Match Against Andrew Sanchez". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2019-10-13.
  25. ^ Alexander K. Lee (2020-01-24). "Anthony Smith to fight Glover Teixeira in UFC Lincoln main event, four other fights added". mmafighting. Retrieved 2020-01-25.
  26. ^ Damon Martin (2020-04-09). "UFC 249, upcoming events postponed due to coronavirus pandemic, Dana White promises 'Fight Island' will proceed". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2020-04-09.
  27. ^ Marcelo Barone (2020-06-18). "In search of his second UFC win, Wellington Turman faces Andrew Sanchez in August". sportv.globo.com. Retrieved 2020-06-18. (in Portuguese)
  28. ^ Evanoff, Josh (2020-08-08). "UFC Vegas 6 Results: Andrew Sanchez Flatlines Wellington Turman". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2020-08-09.
  29. ^ Ryan Galloway (2020-08-09). "UFC Fight Night: Lewis Vs. Oleinik Bonuses". lowkickmma.com. Retrieved 2020-08-09.
  30. ^ DNA, MMA (2020-11-19). "Drie nieuwe gevechten toegevoegd aan verschillende UFC evenementen". MMA DNA. Retrieved 2020-11-19.
  31. ^ Richard Wagner (2020-12-24). "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 2020-12-24. (in Czech)
  32. ^ Anderson, Jay (2021-01-23). "UFC 257 Results: Makhmud Muradov Shocks Andrew Sanchez for 14th Straight Win". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2021-01-24.
  33. ^ DNA, MMA (2021-08-25). "The Ultimate Fighter winnaar Andrew Sanchez treft Bruno Silva op 16 oktober". MMA DNA. Retrieved 2021-08-26.
  34. ^ Evanoff, Josh (2021-10-16). "UFC Vegas 40 Results: Bruno Silva Completes Comeback, Stops Andrew Sanchez". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2021-10-17.
  35. ^ Martin, Damon (2021-10-28). "TUF 23 champion Andrew Sanchez released from the UFC". MMA Fighting. Retrieved 2021-10-28.
  36. ^ "Alexandre 'Capitão' encara ex-UFC em estreia no evento de Khabib Nurmagomedov" (in Portuguese). ESPN.com. 2022-03-28. Retrieved 2022-04-26.
  37. ^ Al-Shatti, Shaun (2022-05-20). "Eagle FC 47 results: Junior dos Santos injures shoulder, Hector Lombard vs. Thiago Silva ends in no contest". MMA Fighting. Retrieved 2022-05-22.
  38. ^ Lee, Alexander K. (2023-05-12). "PFL announces second-half event lineups following 9 fighters receiving drug test suspensions". MMA Fighting. Retrieved 2023-05-14.
  39. ^ "PFL 4 results: Jesus Pinedo stuns Brendan Loughnane with first-round knockout". MMAFighting. June 9, 2023. Retrieved June 9, 2023.
  40. ^ "Changes hit PFL's Utah debut: Salt Lake City gets 'El Dirte' Sanchez". MMA Junkie. 2024-05-22. Retrieved 2024-05-23.
  41. ^ Staff (2024-06-21). "2024 PFL 5: Collard vs. Burnell Full Results". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2024-06-21.
  42. ^ "Sadibou Sy's speed and kicks on display en route to a last-minute finish". pflmma.com. Retrieved 2024-08-04.
  43. ^ "PFL 10 results: Fabian Edwards mimics brother Leon Edwards with vicious head kick knockout to finish Dalton Rosta". sports.yahoo.com
  44. ^ Thomas Gerbasi (December 19, 2016). "Top 10 - The Newcomers of 2016". Ultimate Fighting Championship
  45. ^ Sherdog.com. "Andrew". Sherdog. Retrieved 2019-10-12.