UFC Sign Sam Alvey, Meets Tom Watson at UFC Fight Night 47

UFC Sign Sam Alvey, Meets Tom Watson at UFC Fight Night 47

by Chris Houten - @mrhouts

MFC champion and former TUF contestant Sam Alvey has signed for the UFC and will make his debut against, the UK's Tom Watson at UFC Fight Night 47 in August. UFC officials announced the new booking on Monday.

UFC Fight Night 47 takes place August 16 at Cross Insurance Center in Bangor, Maine, and will be the UFC's debut in the state. 

A cast member on season 16 of The Ultimate fighter, Canada's Alvey (22-5 MMA, 0-0 UFC) made an impression on coach Shane Carwin when he knocked out Leo Kuntz in 47 second to earn his place in the house, a display which printed Carwin to pick Alvey as his number one pick overall. Once on the show however Alvey was unable to replication his success in the fight to get into the house, dropping a unanimous decision to Joey Rivera. 

Following his stink in the TUF house, Alvey joined MFC where he went 3-1 with three straight wins including knockouts of Jay Silva, Jason South and Wes Swofford. His victory over South earned him MFC’s middleweight title, which he later defended against Swofford at MFC 40 in May.

A former middleweight champion with UK promotion BAMMA, Tom Watson has had a tough time since joining the UFC 2 years ago, and will likely need a win over Alvey to keep his job. 

Originally from Southampton, but now fights out of Reign MMA alongside Mark Munoz, Watson made his UFC debut against Brad Tavares at UFC on Fuel 5, which he lost by split decision. He returned at UFC on Fuel 7 to face Stanislov Nedkov who he defeated by second round TKO after being dropped himself in the first round. In his only win of his UFC career Watson earned $100,000 bonus for fight of the night and knockout of the night. 

Following his victory over Nedkov, Watson dropped back-to-back decision losses to Thales Leites, and Nick Cantone in his two most recent outings, which will leave the 32-year-old pretty desperate for a win in his upcoming bout with Alvey.

Following the addition of Watson vs Alvey, UFC Fight Night 47 now includes:
Tim Boetsch vs. Brad Tavares
Shawn Jordan vs. Jack May
Sam Alvey vs. Tom Watson