Sam Hughes
Sampage
USA
Bannon next opponent
Hughes is scheduled to compete against Shauna Bannon in a strawweight fight at UFC Paris on Sept. 6, per Marcel Dorff of Eurosport.nl.
ANALYSIS
Hughes will look to go 4-1 across her last five UFC fights. Meanwhile, Hughes' next opponent has three career bouts for the promotion. The first saw Bannon lose, but she has bounced back with consecutive wins, a run of momentum Hughes will look to curb.
Hughes will look to go 4-1 across her last five UFC fights. Meanwhile, Hughes' next opponent has three career bouts for the promotion. The first saw Bannon lose, but she has bounced back with consecutive wins, a run of momentum Hughes will look to curb.
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Improves to 3-1 in past four fights
Hughes defeated Stephanie Luciano via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-27) at UFC Fight Night on Saturday in Las Vegas.
ANALYSIS
Hughes is the type that will always fight for your dollar, and she proved that once again here as a +140 underdog. Sam managed to close with a 146-101 edge in total strikes landed. She also connected on 3-of-8 takedown attempts, good for 4:21 worth of control time. Hughes rarely lands any truly damaging offense, and that can hurt her in the eyes of the judges at times, but two of the three still felt she did enough to win here. The 32-year-old Iowa native has won two straight and three of her last four.
Hughes is the type that will always fight for your dollar, and she proved that once again here as a +140 underdog. Sam managed to close with a 146-101 edge in total strikes landed. She also connected on 3-of-8 takedown attempts, good for 4:21 worth of control time. Hughes rarely lands any truly damaging offense, and that can hurt her in the eyes of the judges at times, but two of the three still felt she did enough to win here. The 32-year-old Iowa native has won two straight and three of her last four.
Luciano up next
Hughes is scheduled to compete against Stephanie Luciano in a strawweight fight at UFC Vegas 104 on March 15, per Marcel Dorff of Eurosport.nl.
ANALYSIS
Hughes' last fight was a split-decision win over Viktoriia Dudakova in August. The former's next opponent made her UFC debut by defeating Talita Alencar that same month.
Hughes' last fight was a split-decision win over Viktoriia Dudakova in August. The former's next opponent made her UFC debut by defeating Talita Alencar that same month.
Hands Viktoriia Dudakova first loss
Hughes defeated Viktoriia Dudakova via split decision (27-30, 29-28, 29-28) at UFC Fight Night on Saturday in Abu Dhabi.
ANALYSIS
Hughes deserves full marks for this victory. She certainly wasn't the more talented fighter in the Octagon this evening, but she was the better conditioned athlete, and that can make a world of difference in this sport. Hughes fought through some difficult moments in Round 1 and the early portion of Round 2. Once Dudakova appeared to gas out about halfway through, Hughes pushed the pace and turned the tide of the fight. Disregard the 30-27 Dudakova scorecard, as it makes zero sense. The UFC granted Hughes another opportunity despite the fact she lost each of her first three bouts with the company, and she has responded by going 4-2 in her last half-dozen fights dating back to April 2022.
Hughes deserves full marks for this victory. She certainly wasn't the more talented fighter in the Octagon this evening, but she was the better conditioned athlete, and that can make a world of difference in this sport. Hughes fought through some difficult moments in Round 1 and the early portion of Round 2. Once Dudakova appeared to gas out about halfway through, Hughes pushed the pace and turned the tide of the fight. Disregard the 30-27 Dudakova scorecard, as it makes zero sense. The UFC granted Hughes another opportunity despite the fact she lost each of her first three bouts with the company, and she has responded by going 4-2 in her last half-dozen fights dating back to April 2022.
Scheduled against Dudakova
Hughes is scheduled to compete against Viktoriia Dudakova in a strawweight fight at UFC Abu Dhabi on Aug. 3, per Marcel Dorff of Eurosport.nl.
ANALYSIS
Only one loss away from having more MMA defeats than wins, Hughes will look to get back on track with a win over Dudakova. However, it will not be an easy task by any means, especially knowing that Hughes' next opponent is undefeated across eight fights.
Only one loss away from having more MMA defeats than wins, Hughes will look to get back on track with a win over Dudakova. However, it will not be an easy task by any means, especially knowing that Hughes' next opponent is undefeated across eight fights.
Routed in enemy territory
Hughes lost to Yazmin Jauregui via unanimous decision (27-30, 27-30, 27-30) at UFC Fight Night on Saturday in Mexico City.
ANALYSIS
Hughes had no chance as a +490 underdog, largest on the entire card. Sam is very physically strong for 115 pounds, but she failed on all six of her takedown attempts and was never going to beat Jauregui in a 15-minute kickboxing match. Hughes was simply never able to connect with any authority despite landing plenty of volume (88 total strikes). The 31-year-old Iowa native entered having won three of four, but all three wins came against lower-end competition. Sam's 3-5 record in her first eight UFC bouts is more indicative of her long-term potential.
Hughes had no chance as a +490 underdog, largest on the entire card. Sam is very physically strong for 115 pounds, but she failed on all six of her takedown attempts and was never going to beat Jauregui in a 15-minute kickboxing match. Hughes was simply never able to connect with any authority despite landing plenty of volume (88 total strikes). The 31-year-old Iowa native entered having won three of four, but all three wins came against lower-end competition. Sam's 3-5 record in her first eight UFC bouts is more indicative of her long-term potential.