Eddie Sanchez

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1 Profile
2 Early Career
3 UFC
4 Bellator
5 Mixed martial arts record
6 Gallery
7 External links

Profile

Eddie "The Manic Hispanic" Sanchez (born November 4, 1983) is an American professional mixed martial artist training out of North County Fight Club.

He stands 6 ft. 2 in. (188 cm) tall and fights in the heavyweight division at approximately 245 lbs..

Sanchez is a UFC veteran and currently fights as a heavyweight for the Bellator Fighting Championships.

Early Career

Eddie Sanchez made his professional mixed martial arts debut on January 29, 2005 for the Total Combat promotion. He defeated his opponent, Tony Towers, via TKO in the first round.

In his next bout Sanchez faced future Strikeforce competitor, Anthony Ruiz, ang a little over midway through the first round, Sanchez choked him unconscious to earn his first (technical) submission win.

Sanchez rounded out 2005 with two more stoppage wins before opening 2006 with a third round TKO of UFC veteran, Wade Shipp.

UFC

The impressive start to his career earned Sanchez a quick call up to the UFC. He made his UFC debut at UFC 63 against fellow UFC newcomer, Mario Neto. Neto was the favorite going into the bout and took the first round with his ground control. The second was a different story though as Sanchez loaded up on his huge right hand and knocked Neto cold 17 seconds in.

Just under four months later, Sanchez was given the colossal task of welcoming marquee UFC signing, Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic to the octagon at UFC 63. Sanchez looked out of his depth from the outset as he back-pedalled and was scared to engage. Cro Cop stalked him down firing occasional hard hitting strikes. Just before the end of the round, Sanchez wilted under a Cro Cop assualt and was finished off from mount.

Sanchez looked to bounce back from his first loss at UFC 72 when he met Irishman, Colin Robinson. Sanchez was in trouble early as he was rocked and would have been finished by an armbar if not for the ineptitude of Robinson. As the round went on it was clear that Robinson was spent and Sanchez began to pile it on. He finished Big C off in the second round to notch his seventh win.

At UFC 79, Sanchez was given main card duties against Australian PRIDE veteran, Soa Palelei. The UFC would regret their decision however as the two fighters put on a stinker of snail paced clinch fighting that saw a gassed and gunshy Palalei occasionally take semi-big shots from Sanchez. The fight was halted in the third round when it was clear Palalei had simply taken up the role of heavy bag.

Sanchez filled in on short notice for UFC newcomer, Neil Wain at UFC 85 against Dutch kickboxer, Antoni Hardonk. In an excellent back and forth fight, Sanchez dropped Hardonk a number of times but was eventually worn down by leg kicks and in the second round knocked out cold against the cage.

In December, 2008, Sanchez faced Justin McCully in what was deemed by many as a "loser leaves town" match at UFC: Fight for the Troops. McCully outworked Sanchez over the three round duration in a bout that never reached any great heights and was awarded the decision win.

In line with early predictions, Sanchez was released from his UFC contract after the bout.

Bellator

Following his departure from the UFC, Sanchez signed with upstart promotion, the Bellator Fighting Championships. In his Bellator debut he faced Jay White at Bellator 6 and got his career back on track as he stopped White with punches in just 10 seconds.

Sanchez was next scheduled to face EliteXC veteran, Dave Herman at Bellator 12 but the bout did not end up happening.