Last Thursday night, Orlando “The Cuban Tree Stump” Sanchez unexpectedly passed away. Rumours would circulate the online grappling community for most of the following day, until his longtime gym Gracie Barra confirmed the tragic news early last evening via Instagram post.
“The news of the passing of Professor Orlando Sanchez profoundly saddens us,” the post read. “Thank you for being a great friend and one of our greatest athletes.” They would go on to praise Sanchez’s career as both a teacher and successful competitor.
Born February 5, 1982, Sanchez experimented with a wide variety of sports as a youth.