'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
#4 Diego Sanchez – Middleweight (185lbs), Welterweight (170lbs), Lightweight (155lbs), Featherweight (145lbs)
The original The Ultimate Fighter winner, Diego Sanchez’s career trajectory mirrored his castmate Kenny Florian’s when it came to moving weight classes, although he made his moves at different times in his career and for different reasons.
He didn’t spend long at Middleweight – his win over Florian in the inaugural TUF final was his only UFC appearance there, as he quickly moved back to Welterweight, where he’d won a title in King of the Cage prior to his signing with the UFC.
Wins over the likes of Nick Diaz and Karo Parisyan turned him into a top contender there, but by 2007 when he came up against hulking wrestlers Josh Koscheck and Jon Fitch, it looked like he was somewhat outsized. And so Diego decided to make the drop down to Lightweight after an injury forced him out of a fight with Thiago Alves.
Sanchez defeated Joe Stevenson and Clay Guida at his new weight and along with his stellar record at 170lbs, those wins were enough to earn him a shot at UFC Lightweight champ BJ Penn. But Penn dominated Sanchez and finished him in the 5th round, and that would be the end of his initial foray at 155lbs.
He moved back up to 170lbs and went 2-2 over the next 2 years before returning to 155lbs in 2013, where another 2-2 run followed with wins over Takanori Gomi and Ross Pearson being offset by losses to Gilbert Melendez and Myles Jury.
Late 2015 saw a surprising move to Featherweight but Diego never looked comfortable there and a lone loss to Ricardo Lamas ended that experiment. 2016 saw him back at 155lbs for three fights before a 2017 move back to 170lbs ended with a nasty knockout at the hands of Matt Brown.
Still active after 13 years in the promotion, Sanchez has fought in 4 weight classes, but has moved around from division to division perhaps more than any other fighter in UFC history.
