Sam Alvey releases statement following ninth non-victory in a row at UFC Vegas 59

Sam Alvey returned to action at UFC Vegas 59 last night (Sat., Aug. 6, 2022), lasting just 1:56 in the cage against a very game and violent Michal Oleksiejczuk. “Smilin’ Sam” never managed to get much going as Oleksiejczuk backed him up against the cage and dropped him twice before referee, Herb Dean, stepped in and mercifully stopped things.

It was Alvey’s fourth loss in a row, and the last fight on his UFC contract. He ends it on a record-setting 0-8-1 skid in his last nine appearances.

Following the fight, Alvey wrote on Instagram, “Well s— … I swear i used to be good. I lost a step somewhere but my family got to see me fight live. I’m fine but my pride hurts right now. Love you guys. (Even the haters).”

Alvey has been with UFC since 2014 for 24 fights now (plus two The Ultimate Fighter exhibition bouts), but this is probably the end of the road. Leading up to the fight he told MMA Fighting that matchmaker Mick Maynard had said they would let him fight out his current contract, but recommend he retire after that.

“He said we recommend you retire afterward, but we’ll let you fight out [the last fight on your deal],” Alvey said. “It was kind of like you’re probably not going to retire, but we’re going to say we recommend it. We’ll see what happens.”

As for why UFC held onto “Smilin’ Sam” for so long when most fighters don’t survive a three-fight skid?

“They kind of said, ‘You’ve taken a lot of fights that most people would not have taken,’” Alvey told MMA Fighting. “‘Short notice, you’ve gone across seas, you’ve always showed up and your fights are always entertaining and on top of all that, he said you are a joy to work with. When you come to fight week, when you come to the UFC PI, when you do anything like that, your team is someone everyone is excited to see, everyone is excited to work with. You bring a positivity with you that most fighters don’t. We appreciate that.’”

Alvey is by all accounts a nice guy with a lovely family. He’s married to McKey Sullivan, the winner of America’s Next Top Model (Season 11), and was making some pretty good money over the last few years. According to ESPN, he was making $75,000 to show and $75,000 to win, with $21,000 in Venum outfit pay.

If this is the end of the UFC road for Sam Alvey, he leaves the promotion with a 10-13-1 record (33-18 MMA) and notable wins over Gian Villante, Rashad Evans and Nate Marquardt, among others.

For complete UFC Vegas 59: “Santos vs. Hill” results and play-by-play, click HERE.