Diego Sanchez, the winner of Season 1 of "The Ultimate Fighter", has been released by the UFC. 

Following UFC president Dana White's recent announcement that he plans to purge 60 fighters from the roster by the end of the year, Sanchez has joined the likes of Junior Dos Santos and Alistair Overeem in a series of unsurprising cuts by the UFC.

The Albuquerque-born star, 39, controversially defeated Michel Pereira via disqualification in February 2020 - his first win in the UFC since March 2019.

"The Nightmare" has compiled a 3-3 UFC record since returning to welterweight in 2017, but his latest loss, a lopsided unanimous decision at the hands of Jake Matthews, has proven to be his last for the promotion. 

Sanchez (30-13) posted about his release on social media on Thursday night.

The UFC veteran had two fights left on his contract, sources said. 

The announcement comes just days before he was due to face Donald Cerrone at UFC on ESPN 24.

Sanchez, a former King of the Cage welterweight champion, was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame in 2019. He previously won the middleweight tournament of 'The Ultimate Fighter 1.'

In his Instagram post, he hinted that he wants to continue fighting, and tagged several other promotions such as Bellator and ONE Championship.

However, here's hoping that this is the last we see of Sanchez in the Octagon.