In his next bout, Sanchez lost his second straight fight by split decision to Jon Fitch at "UFC 76" on September 22, 2007, before rebounding against David Bielkheden at "UFC 82" with a submission win in the first round due to strikes. Following the win, Sanchez stopped Luigi Fioravanti via TKO due to strikes at 4:07 of the third round at "The Ultimate Fighter 7 Finale". After pulling out of a fight with Thiago Alves due to an injury, Sanchez announced he would be moving to the lightweight division.