Eduardo Arturo Sanchez (born November 4, 1982) is an American retired professional

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting sport based on striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-stylistic contests took place t ...

who last competed in the

Heavyweight Heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling. Boxing Professional Male boxers who weigh over are considered heavyweights by 2 of the 4 major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation an ...

division. A professional from 2004 to 2014, he competed for the

UFC The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. The larg ...

Bellator Bellator, warrior in Latin, may refer to: * Bellator MMA, a mixed martial arts promotion based in the United States * Bishop Bellator of Sufetula (5th century) Taxonomy * ''Bellator'' (fish), a fish genus in the family Triglidae (sea robins) ** ...

Titan FC Titan Fighting Championship (Titan FC) is an American mixed martial arts promotion based out of Pompano Beach, Florida. Their shows were originally run in and near Kansas City and have since expanded to include venues all over North America and e ...

Final Fight Championship Final Fight Championship (FFC) is an international combat sports promoter (entertainment), promotion company founded in 2003 by the FFC owner and CEO Orsat Zovko. The company has its headquarters in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, as well as a European ...

, and

King of the Cage King of the Cage (KOTC) is a mixed martial arts promotion based in Southern California, United States. History KOTC was founded in 1998 by Terry Trebilcock Jr. KOTC features mostly amateur as well as up and coming MMA stars and former mainstre ...

Background

Sanchez played baseball at San Marcos High School, excelling as a pitcher, and then continued at his career at

Palomar College Palomar College is a public community college in San Diego County, California. The main campus is in San Marcos and three centers and four education sites are located elsewhere throughout north San Diego County. Academics Palomar College off ...

. However, his career was cut short when he was injured after a near fatal drunk driving incident. Sanchez was 20 years old and driving with a friend while intoxicated. Sanchez flew through the windshield and almost had one of his legs amputated because of the injuries.

Mixed martial arts career

Ultimate Fighting Championship

On February 3, 2007, with a 1–0 promotional record, Sanchez faced

Mirko Cro Cop Mirko Filipović (; born 10 September 1974), better known by his ring name Mirko Cro Cop, is a Croatian former professional mixed martial artist, kickboxer and amateur boxer. He is mostly known for his time in Pride Fighting Championships. Cro ...

at UFC 67. Sanchez lost via TKO due to punches at 4:33 of the first round, in Cro Cop's debut fight in the UFC. Average betting for this fight was around -1200 for Cro Cop and +800 for Eddie Sanchez, the biggest gap for underdog/favorite in UFC history. Sanchez defeated Irish heavyweight Colin Robinson by TKO at

UFC 72 ''UFC 72: Victory'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship. The event took place Saturday, June 16, 2007 at The Odyssey in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Background ''UFC 72'' continued the UFC's expansion into Eu ...

. At UFC 79, held on December 29, 2007, Sanchez defeated Soa Palalei via TKO (strikes). Sanchez went on to lose to

Antoni Hardonk Antoni Hardonk (born February 5, 1976) is a Dutch retired mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist and kickboxing, kickboxer who competed in K-1 and the Ultimate Fighting Championship, UFC. Kickboxing career Antoni made his K-1 debut at the ''K- ...

UFC 85 ''UFC 85: Bedlam'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) on June 7, 2008, at The O2 Arena in London, United Kingdom. Background The card was plagued by a number of injuries sustained by scheduled fight ...

in London on June 7, 2008. Sanchez took the Hardonk fight on short notice, as a late replacement for Neil Wain. Sanchez was noticeably out of shape at the weigh in, but despite this, he knocked Hardonk down twice, once in the first round and once in the second, before succumbing to strikes at 4:15 in the second round. Sanchez next faced

Justin McCully Justin McCully (born February 18, 1976) is a retired American professional mixed martial artist and professional wrestler who most recently competed in the Heavyweight division of the RFA. A professional competitor since 1997, McCully has also f ...

at UFC: Fight for the Troops on December 10,2008, he lost the via unanimous decision and was released from the promotion.

Bellator Fighting Championships

Sanchez debuted for Bellator at Bellator 7, recording a ten-second knock out. His next Bellator bout was scheduled against Ralph Kelly at

Bellator 20 2010 in Bellator MMA was the second installment of the Bellator Fighting Championships (Bellator FC)-produced series. It started on April 8, 2010, and ended on June 24, 2010. Tournaments were held in the featherweight, lightweight, welterweight ...

. Kelly pulled out of the bout and was replaced by Wayne Cole. Cole then pulled out of the fight and was replaced by Marcus Sursa. Sanchez won via TKO in the third round. With this win, Eddie will take a spot in the third season heavyweight tournament.

Titan Fighting Championships

Sanchez was scheduled to fight

Bobby Lashley Franklin Roberto Lashley (born July 16, 1976) is an American professional wrestler and former mixed martial artist. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is a member of The Hurt Syndicate and is one-half of the AEW World Tag Team C ...

at Titan Fighting Championships 19. But on July 22, it was announced that Lashley withdrew from the fight for personal reasons. Sanchez fought

Strikeforce Strike Force may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Games *Strike Force (video game), ''Strike Force'' (video game), a 1991 arcade game *''Commandos: Strike Force'', a 2006 video game *''Dynasty Warriors: Strikeforce'', a 2009 video game *' ...

veteran

Brett Rogers Brett Charles Rogers (born February 17, 1981) is an American former mixed martial artist who most recently competed in the Heavyweight division. A professional competitor since 2005, Rogers has fought in EliteXC, Strikeforce, and Bellator. Bac ...

at Titan Fighting Championships 20. Sanchez won by split decision.

Independent promotions

Sanchez then faced

Damian Grabowski Damian Grabowski (born May 12, 1980) is a Polish professional mixed martial artist who last competed in 2019. A professional since 2007, he has fought in the UFC, Bellator, Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki (KSW), Fight Exclusive Night and M-1 Global. ...

at MMA Attack 2 on April 27, 2012. Sanchez was submitted via kimura at 2:02 in the second round. The following June, Sanchez faced future Bellator Heavyweight champion Vitaly Minakov at The Battle of Moscow 7. Sanchez was defeated in the first round via KO. After a long layoff, Sanchez eventually returned and faced Stjepan Bekavac at FFC11: Jurković vs. Kaluđerović on April 4, 2014. Sanchez was knocked out in the first round, marking his third loss in a row.

Championships and accomplishments

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promoter (entertainment), promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor ( ...

** Knockout of the Night (One time) vs. Soa Palelei

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Loss , align=center, 15–8 , Stjepan Bekavac , KO (punch) , FFC11: Jurkovic vs. Kaluderovic , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:07 ,

Osijek Osijek () is the fourth-largest city in Croatia, with a population of 96,848 in 2021. It is the largest city and the economic and cultural centre of the eastern Croatian region of Slavonia, as well as the administrative centre of Osijek-Baranja ...

, Croatia , , - , Loss , align=center, 15–7 , Vitaly Minakov , KO (punch) , Fight Nights Global 9 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:59 ,

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

, Russia , , - , Loss , align=center, 15–6 ,

, Submission (kimura) , MMA Attack 2 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:02 ,

Katowice Katowice (, ) is the capital city of the Silesian Voivodeship in southern Poland and the central city of the Katowice urban area. As of 2021, Katowice has an official population of 286,960, and a resident population estimate of around 315,000. K ...

, Poland , , - , Win , align=center, 15–5 ,

, Decision (split) , Titan Fighting Championships 20 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Kansas City, Kansas Kansas City (commonly known as KCK) is the third-most populous city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Wyandotte County. It is an inner suburb of the older and more populous Kansas City, Missouri, after which it is named. As ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 14–5 ,

Mike Whitehead Michael Joe Whitehead (born June 29, 1981) is a former professional mixed martial artist. He competed in the Light Heavyweight and Heavyweight weight classes for the Ultimate Fighting Championship, IFL, Affliction, and Strikeforce. Mixed mart ...

, Decision (split) , Pure Fighting Championships 6 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Red Deer, Alberta Red Deer is a city in Alberta, Canada, located midway on the Calgary–Edmonton Corridor. Red Deer serves central Alberta, and its key industries include health care, retail trade, construction, oil and gas, hospitality, manufacturing and educati ...

, Canada , , - , Loss , align=center, 14–4 ,

Neil Grove Neil Grove (born 18 January 1971) is a South African-English Heavyweight professional mixed martial artist. A professional competitor since 2006, Grove has competed for the UFC, Bellator Cage Rage, UCMMA, and the SFL. Background Originall ...

, TKO (punches) ,

Bellator 24 2010 in Bellator MMA was the second installment of the Bellator Fighting Championships (Bellator FC)-produced series. It started on April 8, 2010, and ended on June 24, 2010. Tournaments were held in the featherweight, lightweight, welterweight ...

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:32 ,

Hollywood, Florida Hollywood is a city in Broward County, Florida, United States. It is a suburb in the Miami metropolitan area. The population of Hollywood was 153,067 as of 2020, making it the Broward County#Communities, third-largest city in Broward County, th ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 14–3 , Marcus Sursa , TKO (punches) ,

, , align=center, 3 , align=center, 0:23 ,

San Antonio, Texas San Antonio ( ; Spanish for "Anthony of Padua, Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the List of Texas metropolitan areas, third-largest metropolitan area in Texa ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 13–3 , Mark Honneger , Decision (unanimous) , Maximo Fighting Championship , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

San Juan San Juan, Spanish for Saint John (disambiguation), Saint John, most commonly refers to: * San Juan, Puerto Rico * San Juan, Argentina * San Juan, Metro Manila, a highly urbanized city in the Philippines San Juan may also refer to: Places Arge ...

, Puerto Rico , , - , Win , align=center, 12–3 , Vince Lucero , Submission (guillotine choke) , Total Combat 33 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:27 ,

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

, Mexico , , - , Win , align=center, 11–3 , Jay White , KO (punches) , Bellator 7 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:10 ,

Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 10–3 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , UFC: Fight for the Troops , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Fayetteville, North Carolina Fayetteville ( , ) is a city in and the county seat of Cumberland County, North Carolina, United States. It is best known as the home of Fort Bragg, a major U.S. Army installation northwest of the city. Fayetteville has received the All-Ameri ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 10–2 ,

, TKO (punches) ,

, , align=center, 2 , align=center, 4:15 ,

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, England , , - , Win , align=center, 10–1 , Soa Palelei , TKO (punches) , UFC 79 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 3:24 ,

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 9–1 , Colin Robinson , TKO (punches) ,

, , align=center, 2 , align=center, 0:32 ,

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

, Northern Ireland , , - , Loss , align=center, 8–1 ,

, TKO (punches) , UFC 67 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:33 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 8–0 , Mario Neto , KO (punches) , UFC 63: Hughes vs. Penn , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 0:17 ,

Anaheim, California Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, United States, part of the Greater Los Angeles area. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orang ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 7–0 , Wade Shipp , TKO (punches) , TC 13: Anarchy , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 4:32 ,

Del Mar, California Del Mar (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Of the Sea") is a beach city in San Diego County, California, located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean. Established in 1885 as a seaside resort, the city incorporated in 1959. The population was 3,954 ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 6–0 , Josh Tamsen , TKO (punches) , Total Combat 11 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, N/A ,

Tijuana Tijuana is the most populous city of the Mexican state of Baja California, located on the northwestern Pacific Coast of Mexico. Tijuana is the municipal seat of the Tijuana Municipality, the hub of the Tijuana metropolitan area and the most popu ...

, Mexico , , - , Win , align=center, 5–0 , Julian Rush , TKO (corner stoppage) , Total Combat 10 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 5:00 ,

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 , Adrian Perez , TKO (submission to punches) , KOTC 61: Flash Point , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:11 ,

San Jacinto, California San Jacinto ( , ; ) is a city in Riverside County, California, United States. It is located at the north end of the San Jacinto Valley, with Hemet, California, Hemet to its south and Beaumont, California, Beaumont to its north. The mountains ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 ,

Anthony Ruiz Anthony Ruiz (born November 3, 1977) is an American professional mixed martial artist currently competing in the Light Heavyweight and Middleweight divisions of MMA. A professional since 2003, he has competed for Bellator MMA, Strikeforce (mixed m ...

, Technical Submission (triangle choke) , KOTC 54: Mucho Machismo , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:49 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Tony Towers , TKO (punches) , Total Combat 7 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:55 ,

, Mexico , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Adan Arceo , TKO (punches) , Total Combat 5 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 0:20 ,

, Mexico ,

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sanchez, Eddie American male mixed martial artists American mixed martial artists of Mexican descent American sportspeople of Dominican Republic descent Heavyweight mixed martial artists 1982 births Living people Sportspeople from La Jolla, San Diego Sportspeople from Huntington Beach, California Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters