The Coronavirus Chronicles: Sam Alvey

The last 19 months of Sam Alvey’s career have been difficult. The Ultimate Fighting Championship veteran finds himself in the throes of a three-fight losing streak, and he was forced to withdraw from a November booking opposite Mauricio Rua due to a broken hand. Alvey was training for a March return in Columbus, Ohio, until the coronavirus pandemic brought the United States to its knees. He was a short-notice addition to the UFC 249 lineup on April 18 before the event was cancelled because of the ongoing crisis.

“My wife and I haven’t worked since July of last year,” Alvey told Sherdog.com. “We’ve been counting our pennies [and] really budgeting to make sure we got to the fight [on March 28], and then corona happened. I was like, ‘Well, shoot. I might not fight until July. Can I make it to July?’ I had to start getting ready to apply to Costco or Jack-in-the-Box—anything around town that’s still open. Then the [UFC 249] fight came on, and then it was canceled four days later … like, son of a b----.”

In this exclusive interview with Sherdog, “Smilin’ Sam” discussed trying to train at home during the pandemic, life under stay-at-home mandates in California and his hope to adopt a fifth child, along with a number of other subjects.