Sam Alvey has no complaints about how he was treated in the UFC.
BJ Penn and Tony Ferguson are tied for the longest losing streak in promotional history at seven. However, they’re no match for Alvey’s nine-fight stretch without a win to close out his UFC tenure in 2022. Despite the optics of that stretch, the “Smilin’” one remained competitive, for the most part, with a pair of split-decision losses mixed in and a split draw against Da Un Jung separating his four-fight skids.
Alvey, 37, has since gone on to get back in the win column with a third-round TKO of Cameron Graham at B2 Fighting Series 183 in May 2023. Later that year, Alvey joined Karate Combat and won two fights to become the heavyweight champion. In hindsight looking back on his 24-fight UFC career (10-13-1, 34–18–1, 1 NC overall), Alvey believes he was treated appropriately in the endless debate around fighter pay.
“The UFC pays us way more than we deserve,” Alvey told Ultimate Punching. “You have some of the superstars like the [Justin] Gaethje’s and the [Max] Holloway’s and the Jon Jones’, those guys get paid what they get paid. But most of the card gets paid way more than we’re worth.”
Alvey’s sentiment comes after the historic UFC 300 card this past weekend that saw the fight bonuses raised from the usual $50,000 to $300,000. Earning himself Fight of the Night honors along with a Performance of the Night, Holloway took home double the bonus payout thanks to his legendary fifth-round knockout of Gaethje in their BMF title clash.
The UFC has grown tremendously since Alvey joined the roster through The Ultimate Fighter 16 (TUF) in 2014. Even 10 years ago, Alvey felt bewildered by the compensation and treatment he received after his MFC title run in Canada.
“My first win in the UFC was over in Australia,” Alvey said. “They flew me and my corner out there, and then they flew my opponent, his corner out there. We got off the plane, they gave us $1000, they get off the plane, give them $1000.