TUF 16 Fighter Sam Alvey Says Message Received After UFC Cut Majority of His Season's Cast
For the first time in the history of the 16 seasons of The Ultimate Fighter, only the fighters involved in the final fight made the card for the finale of the show.
Colton Smith defeated Mike Ricci to win the contract from The Ultimate Fighter following the season where coaches Roy Nelson and Shane Carwin led the way.
That situation was followed up with the news that 12 of the 16 fighters from the cast had been released from their UFC contracts, with only Smith, Ricci, Jon Manley and Neil Magny left on the roster once the dust settled. According to sources, Manley and Magny were scheduled to fight at the TUF 16 Finale, but an injury sidelined one of the fighters, so they were given a stay of execution.
TUF 16 castmember Sam Alvey was among those fighters that didn't get to compete at the finale, and he says it was a big shock that no additional cast members were on the final show of the year last weekend in Las Vegas.
UFC president Dana White had exploded at the cast of this season's show for not going for the kill more often and playing it safe in fights. Alvey now says his message was clear, and future competitors on The Ultimate Fighter need to know what's expected of them.
“It was surprising. I know another fight was scheduled, but one of the guys from The Ultimate Fighter got injured, so that one got scratched, but it was only going to be four of a great cast. I guess they wanted to teach future seasons a lesson,” Alvey told MMAWeekly Radio.
“Don't worry about winning a fight, punch with your chin up and hope you get a knockout cause that's what they're looking for.”
Like any fighter that doesn't get a second chance, Alvey has a little bit of resentment in his voice because beyond his own situation there were several other fighters he believes should have gotten at least one more fight in the UFC.
Regardless, none of them did and now they have to battle their way back if they want another shot in the Octagon.
In the end, Alvey admits that he has no one to blame for the situation he's in because he didn't win and make it to the final fight, and that's the only guarantee there is when you're trying to get a contract from being on The Ultimate Fighter.
“Message received. It is what it is, but it comes down to I should have won. Those of us that were on the show, we should have won. That's what's important,” said Alvey.
“I'll bet the future seasons of The Ultimate Fighter will be even bigger because we didn't to get to fight.”
Stay tuned to MMAWeekly.com for all the latest news on The Ultimate Fighter.
