UFC veteran Sam Alvey has hit nearly two dozen fights inside the Octagon, returning against the surging Julian Marquez in his 21st appearance inside the promotion.
Despite the experience, Alvey has gone through a recent slump, dropping a record of 0-4-1 in his last 5 fights. At the end of unfortunate streak, Alvey would still be offered a new UFC contract and a drop back down to Middleweight would be what is next for him.
Alvey was supposed to take on Zak Cummings in his highly anticipated return to 185lbs, however Cummings would come to have an injury, pulling out of the bout. Julian Marquez, who is now somehow friends with Miley Cyrus, will take on Alvey next.
The Light Heavyweight Run
Alvey hasn’t fought in the Middleweight division since 2017. A loss to Ramazan Emeev would spark interest in a move up to Light Heavyweight. The power at Light Heavyweight would be anything other than light, as Alvey knocked out Marcin Prachnio in round 1, in his divisional debut.
This would earn Alvey an extra $50K in the bank, as he would secure a performance bonus in his move up. The American fighter would go on to take a close split decision over Gian Villante in his sequel performance, improving to 2-0 at 185.
The Downfall
Early success in his new home wouldn’t last for long however, as Alvey was unable to get a win in his next five fights. He would be knocked out by Antonio Rogerio Nogueira and Jimmy Crute. After the back-to-back KO losses, Alvey would be edged out on the scorecards. The judges would score the fights in favor of his next opponents, with disapproval rom Alvey and many fans.
The ginger’s performance in his senior outing against Da Un Jung would go on to be a draw in the judges official decision last October.
“All Judges Are Terrible”
The latest installment in the stint wouldn’t have Alvey released from the UFC, it would have him offered a new contract to fight out. With a new contract in hand, Alvey would return where he did his best work. Middleweight.
“I couldn’t win a fight at 205.” Alvey told James Lynch. “The judges hated the smaller guy, either that or gingers, I don’t remember which one. Whoever they find in the parking lot to judge the MMA fights, they pick who the bigger guy is and that’s who is going to win. I’ll go back to middleweight and I’ll be the bigger guy there.”
“The biggest thing I took away [from the last fight] is that all judges are terrible and they will get it wrong at every opportunity.”