Sam Alvey

American UFC mixed martial artist “Smile’n” Sam Alvey has now been a professional fighter for over a decade. During that time, he has held the MFC Middleweight Championship belt and UFC’s much-coveted Performance of the Night prize. He is also the current joint-holder of the UFC record for most fights in 12 months. Away from MMA, Alvey is also a stand-up comic and host a podcast, #justsmile, along with Jordan Killion and Derek Bowe.

Alvey was born in the village of Waterford, Wisconsin in 1986. By the time he reached high school, he had developed a wide range of talents, including wrestling, football, and music. Of the three, it was the latter that appeared to offer a career path — he graduated from playing the trumpet in the school’s marching band to playing semi-professionally whilst studying at college — but it was also at college that he discovered pankration, an ancient form of fighting, with very few rules, which dates back to the very first Olympics in Ancient Greece. From this sport, he progressed to mixed martial arts, beginning his amateur career aged 19.

In 2008, just a year after beginning MMA training, Alvey turned professional and began building a strong reputation across Wisconsin. He won several matches for the King of the Cage promotion and caught the attention of Bellator, one of the largest combat sports promotions in the world. From there, he moved to MFC, winning their Middleweight Championship title before being signed by UFC in 2014, where he remained ever since, proving himself against some of the world’s greatest mixed martial artists.