Middleweights Sam Alvey and Michal Oleksiejczuk faced off in a preliminary card scrap at UFC Vegas 59 on Saturday, in a fight that was hotly anticipated for all the wrong reasons.
With apologies to Smile’n Sam himself, it’s nearly unimaginable that Sam Alvey, with a 0-7-1 record in his past eight fights, had remained in the UFC while numerous fighters have been shown the door after losing just two or three fights. Yet that is the benefit of being a company man, always stepping up on short notice, and willing to stand and trade and entertain the fans.
And so Alvey was allowed to fight out the fight bout on his contract Saturday, much to the chagrin of some of the internet’s more vocal critics. Oleksiejczuk meanwhile was making his middleweight debut in the promotion.
Oleksiejczuk took a big swing and missed in the opening seconds, but chased Alvey, connecting a couple of times. Alvey was getting caught along the fence, eating a hook. A left hand then dropped Alvey, and Oleksiejczuk got on top! Somehow Alvey survived, and used the fence to walk over Oleksiejczuk, but couldn’t turn the corner.
Instead, Alvey covered up, eating more shots, turned, and got back up. Alvey, bloodied, shot for a takedown, which was stuffed. Oleksiejczuk then tagged Alvey again, dropping him! That was a wrap, with the ref waving things off. Another loss for Alvey, who will likely move on from the UFC. As for Oleksiejczuk, a successful 185 pound debut on Saturday night.
Official Result: Michal Oleksiejczuk def. Sam Alvey by TKO, Round 1, 1:56
