Like it or not, weight-cutting is deeply rooted in mixed martial arts. MMA adopted its weight-cutting from the sport of wrestling, where it is presumed to be very advantageous to be the biggest and strongest in your weight class. Known as the ‘fight before the fight,’ most UFC fighters cut anywhere from 5-25 pounds, with some fighters even in excess of 30 pounds.
Weight-cutting is the ultimate test of discipline and willpower. Many fighters in the sport consider it very unprofessional to miss weight. In this series, we will shine a light on fighters who cut a massive amount of weight, who have missed weight multiple times in the past, who have made weight-class changes, along with how the weight-cut and weigh-in could affect possible upcoming match-ups. Basically, every aspect of weight-cutting and how it affects the fight game.
Sam “Smilin” Alvey (33-14-1 MMA, 10-9-1 UFC)
Welterweight (170lbs.): The Ultimate Fighter Season 16 Competitor
Middleweight (185lbs.): 8-5 (UFC), Missed weight 1x
Light Heavyweight (205lbs.): 2-4-1 (UFC)
Sam Alvey has been in the fight game for a very long time, as he made his professional MMA debut back in 2008. Alvey actually was on The Ultimate Fighter Season 16 back in 2012 where he competed as a welterweight, going 1-1 on the show.
When Alvey finally did make it to the UFC in 2014, it was at his much more natural weight class of 185lbs. Alvey looked great at middleweight, putting together both 3 and 4 fight wins streaks but never quite was able to get to the top of the division, losing to opponents like Derek Brunson and Elias Theodorou.
Sam missed weight ahead of his 2017 bout against Ramazan Emeev when he weighed in at 189lbs, though it was a short notice bout. After Alvey lost the fight, he made a move up to the light heavyweight division. Alvey found success immediately at 205lbs. in the form of two wins, but after that, it was all downhill. Alvey has lost four of his last five fights with his most recent fight against Da Un Jung ending in a draw.
Now 34 years old, Alvey is moving back down to the middleweight division for the first time since 2017. Standing at 6’2″ with just a 76″ reach his measurable attributes definitely point to that of a middleweight, but that doesn’t mean that cutting that extra 20lbs. for the first time in 4 years won’t be difficult. For this reason, Alvey will definitely be a fighter to watch on the scale ahead of UFC on ABC 2.
