Diego Sanchez benefited from judging ‘insanity’ to win one of the most contested decisions in UFC history

Diego Sanchez achieved many great things during his Hall of Fame UFC career.

‘The Nightmare’ won the first season of The Ultimate Fighter before competing 32 times inside the Octagon during an incredible 15-year run in MMA’s premier promotion.

Diego Sanchez picked up high-profile wins over Nick Diaz, Kenny Florian, Paulo Thiago, Clay Guida, Jim Miller, and Michel Pereira before seemingly ending his epic MMA career in 2022

However, some fans will always remember him for being on the right end of the most controversial judging decisions in UFC history.

READ MORE: ‘All kinds of crazy’… Joe Rogan explains why Diego Sanchez was one of his favorite UFC fighters to watch

Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty ImagesThe story of Diego Sanchez vs Ross PearsonDiego Sanchez vs Ross Pearson was an uncompelling matchup between two fringe lightweight contenders that didn’t even come close to winning Fight of the Night.

It should’ve been forgotten a few days after they fought in June 2014 – but more than a decade later the fight is brought up every time fans discuss the biggest robberies of all time.

After three rounds of action, Sanchez bizarrely picked up a split-decision win.

Pearson outstruck his opponent in every round to seemingly run out a clear winner, but only one of the cageside judges saw him winning the 15-minute affair.

Judge Marcos Rosales scored the fight 30-27 to Pearson, which is the card 13 out of 14 media members had, with the outlier still giving Sanchez’s opponent the fight 29-28.

Amazingly, judges Jeff Collins and Chris Tellez scored the bout for Sanchez.

Their 30-27 and 29-28 verdicts led to a massive uproar in the MMA community.

Dana White was furious. The UFC boss awarded Pearson his win bonuses and refused to book a rematch as he felt like ‘The Real Deal’ was such a clear winner it wasn’t necessary.

“It was horrible. In the second round, Diego got dropped and one judge still gave him that round. Insanity, man. Pearson got robbed,” White said.

“Pearson won that fight clearly. He easily won that fight. We have to treat Pearson like he won and give him that next-level fight.”

“The thing about our sport is there’s never any of that hometown advantage bulls***. Yeah, more people are going to be cheering for you than the other guy, but it’s not like the judges are all from that town.

“Usually, athletic commissions pull the best from around the country. Whoever gave that fight all three rounds to Sanchez should never judge a fight again.”

Where is Diego Sanchez now?Sanchez hasn’t fought in MMA since suffering a unanimous decision defeat against Kevin Lee at Eagle FC 46 in June 2022.

Since then, he’s transitioned to bare-knuckle boxing and had a fight with former Canelo Alvarez opponent, Austin Trout, who beat him via a fourth-round doctor’s stoppage last February.

What’s next for the 43-year-old’s combat sports career remains a mystery, but he’s about to be thrust back into the spotlight as the subject of VICE’s latest documentary.

UFC legend, Diego Sanchez faced one of his toughest battles outside the cage—his tumultuous relationship with self-proclaimed “guru” Joshua Fabia. What started as mentorship soon spiraled into manipulation, leaving Sanchez at a crossroads in both his career and personal life.… pic.twitter.com/FSBiRFCwg1

— VICE TV (@VICETV) January 14, 2025 View Tweet

On Wednesday evening, Episode 2 of the channel’s new MMA docuseries ‘Dark Side of the Cage’ will air.

It will focus on Sanchez’s tumultuous relationship with self-proclaimed ‘guru’ Joshua Fabia. What started as mentorship soon spiraled into manipulation, leaving Sanchez at a crossroads in both his career and personal life.

The two men ended their partnership years ago, but now it will become mainstream news once again as Sanchez talks publicly about his former coach, who he claims had him ‘under a spell’, prior to their split.