UFC Hall of Famer picks up controversial win in second illegal knee disqualification of the night

Heading into his fight against Michel Pereira in the co-headliner at UFC Fight Night 167 inside the Santa Ana Star Center in Rio Rancho, New Mexico, Diego Sanchez had promised to have his hand raised in front of his hometown crowd and he fulfilled the promise too, but not in the manner he would have liked to.

Sanchez fought valiantly throughout the fight but early on in the fight, it became clear that the UFC veteran was no match for Pereira's superior striking and the former was being outstruck throughout the fight. Towards the end of the third round, Sanchez was hit by an illegal knee from Pereira and he couldn't recover from it, forcing the referee to disqualify Pereira.

Sanchez started the fight with an outrageous cartwheel kick but he couldn't get going because Pereira was just too good on the night, having the audacity to dance inside the Octagon when his opponent was trying to finish him for good.

He looked well on route to get the victory against Sanchez until he lost his control and ended up hitting Sanchez with a nasty knee to the forehead which left a gaping wound. Since only a couple of minutes were left in the fight, the referee asked Sanchez if he could carry on but the seasoned veteran knew that he had already bagged the win per rules.

The crowd in attendance showed undying love for their homegrown fighter and cheered him even after he was announced winner via disqualification.

.@DiegoSanchezUFC wins via DQ #UFCRioRancho pic.twitter.com/Z3S6qwXfYX

— UFC (@ufc) February 16, 2020