Samuel Earl Hoger (; born June 28, 1980) is an American retired

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorp ...

, poker player, and an actor, most notable for appearing on the first season of ''

The Ultimate Fighter ''The Ultimate Fighter'' is an American reality television series and mixed martial arts (MMA) competition produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and Pilgrim Media Group currently airing on ESPN+. It previously aired for fourteen s ...

'', a

reality television Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 19 ...

series produced by the

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

and broadcast on

Spike TV Paramount Network is an American basic cable television channel owned by the MTV Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Media Networks. The network's headquarters are located at the Paramount Pictures studio lot in Los Angeles. The channel was o ...

. Hoger has trained with

Miletich Fighting Systems Miletich Fighting Systems (MFS) was a mixed martial arts (MMA) training organization. It was recognized as an excellent training camp. It has been the training camp for fighters such as Matt Hughes, Tim Sylvia, Jens Pulver, Robbie Lawler, a ...

Bettendorf, Iowa Bettendorf is a city in Scott County, Iowa, United States. It is the 15th largest city of Iowa and the third-largest city in the "Quad Cities". It is part of the Davenport– Moline– Rock Island, IA- IL Metropolitan Statistical Area. The popu ...

and is belted in the Miletich Fighting Systems.

Background

Hoger was born in

Baton Rouge, Louisiana Baton Rouge ( ; ) is a city in and the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana. Located the eastern bank of the Mississippi River, it is the parish seat of East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana's most populous parish—the equivalent of counties i ...

to a

Panamanian Panamanians (Spanish: ''Panameños'') are people identified with Panama, a transcontinental country in Central America (a region within North America) and South America, whose connection may be residential, legal, historical, or cultural. For m ...

mother and an American father. Before his first birthday, Sam moved with his family to Germany where his father – a

major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

in the

US Military The United States Armed Forces are the Military, military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six Military branch, service branches: the United States Army, Army, United States Marine Corps, Marine Corps, United States N ...

– was stationed. From Germany the family moved to Panama due to the

United States invasion of Panama The United States invasion of Panama, codenamed Operation Just Cause, lasted over a month between mid-December 1989 and late January 1990. It occurred during the administration of President George H. W. Bush and ten years after the Torrijos– ...

. Hoger has two sisters. Hoger got interested in martial arts as a kid when he saw

Karate Kid ''The Karate Kid'' is a 1984 American martial arts drama film written by Robert Mark Kamen and directed by John G. Avildsen. It is the first installment in the '' Karate Kid'' franchise, and stars Ralph Macchio, Pat Morita, Elisabeth Shue and ...

in the movies, and subsequently his mother placed him in karate lessons in Panama. The family moved to Alaska when Sam was a teenager, where he got interested in

Brazilian jiu-jitsu Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ; pt, jiu-jitsu brasileiro ) is a self-defence martial art and combat sport based on grappling, ground fighting (ne-waza) and submission holds. BJJ focuses on the skill of taking an opponent to the ground, control ...

and started training under Ted Stickel around the age of 13. Sam graduated from

Chugiak High School Chugiak High School is a public high school located in Chugiak, Anchorage, Alaska, and a part of the Anchorage School District. Chugiak's mascot is the Mustang and the school colors are blue, black, and white. In 2005, Chugiak's student populatio ...

and got a senatorial nomination to

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a fort, since it sits on strategic high groun ...

. However, Hoger attended

New Mexico Military Institute New Mexico Military Institute (NMMI) is a public military junior college and high school in Roswell, New Mexico. Founded in 1891, NMMI operates under the auspices of the State of New Mexico, under a dedicated Board of Regents that reports to the G ...

from where he dropped out. He then received a merit-based

scholarship A scholarship is a form of financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, diversity and inclusion, athletic skill, and financial need. Scholarsh ...

LSU Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 near ...

from where he graduated with two Political Science degrees (Theory and Government) Class of 2002. Afterwards he studied for his MBA at St. Ambrose University in Davenport, Iowa. He was also the founder of the Brazilian jiu-jitsu Club at LSU.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Hoger made his amateur debut on January 27, 2001, when he faced Robert DiMarco at Reality Combat Fighting 9. He won the fight via rear-naked choke submission. He then faced John Accardo at Reality Combat Fighting 14 on March 15, 2002. He won via referee stoppage TKO. Hoger would turn professional in June 2003, and compiled a professional record of 4–0 before being signed to compete on

The Ultimate Fighter

Hoger made it to the semi-finals on the show without having to fight. His comments at the time suggested a calculated and Machiavellian effort on his part to win the show by fighting as late as possible. In the show, he maintained a distance from others and made it a point to keep everyone confused, including his own teammates. He was eliminated by

Forrest Griffin Forrest Griffin (born July 1, 1979) is an American retired mixed martial artist and former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion. He was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame in 2013 and currently serves as the Vice President of Athlete Development at the ...

in the semi finals via TKO after a first round Hoger likely won. In the second round, Forrest came out looking to finish, got Hoger in the clinch, knocked him down with a series of knees and finished him with punches to the head. On the night of

The Ultimate Fighter 1 Finale The debut season of The Ultimate Fighter (later designated ''The Ultimate Fighter 1'') premiered on January 17, 2005. Sixteen mixed martial arts fighters (eight light heavyweights weighing from 186 to 205 lb and eight middleweights weighing from ...

, he won a Unanimous decision against Bobby Southworth, who was considered to be the best light heavyweight on the show by Chuck Liddell, Randy Couture, and Dana White, due to his pre-show professional record.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Hoger faced Stephan Bonnar at UFC Ultimate Fight Night on August 6, 2005. He lost the fight via unanimous decision, giving him the first loss of his career. He then faced Jeff Newton at

UFC 56 The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promoter (entertainment), promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor (company), End ...

on November 19, 2005. He won the fight via second round rear-naked choke. In his third fight in the promotion, Hoger faced then-undefeated

Rashad Evans Rashad Anton Evans (born September 25, 1979) is an American mixed martial artist. Evans started his professional career in 2003, he was the Heavyweight winner of The Ultimate Fighter 2 and is also a former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion, and a 2 ...

UFC Ultimate Fight Night 4 ''Ultimate Fight Night 4'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on April 6, 2006. The event took place at Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, in Las Vegas, Nevada and was broadcast live on Spike TV in the United States ...

on April 6, 2006. He lost the fight via split decision. Hoger faced

Lyoto Machida (born 30 May 1978), is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist and karateka, who currently competes in the Light heavyweight division. He formerly competed for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he was a former UFC Light ...

at UFC 67 on February 3, 2007. He lost the fight via unanimous decision, and was released from the promotion shortly after.

Post-UFC career

In his first fight outside of the UFC, Hoger replaced Mike Ciesnolevicz to face longtime MMA fighter Vernon White at IFL: Moline on April 7, 2007. Hoger lost the fight via rear-naked choke, giving him three losses in a row. He then faced Jason Dolloff at World Championship Fighting 4 on September 19, 2008. Hoger knocked out Dolloff just under twenty seconds into the first round, snapping his three-fight losing streak in the process. Hoger faced Johnathan Ivey at Urban Rumble Championship on January 24, 2009, for the URC Heavyweight Championship. He won the fight via third round kimura to win the Heavyweight Championship. Hoger was scheduled to face

Alistair Overeem Alistair Cees Overeem (born 17 May 1980) is a Dutch professional heavyweight mixed martial artist and kickboxer, currently competing in the heavyweight division of Glory. He is a former Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion, Dream Heavyweight Cha ...

at UG 11: A Decade of Fights on October 17, 2009. However, Hoger was removed from the bout and was replaced by Tony Sylvester. He faced Patrick Miller at Worldwide Gladiator on April 9, 2010. He won the fight via TKO. In his latest fight, he faced Jody Poff at Fight Night MMA on June 5, 2010. He won the fight via armbar submission.

Personal life

After spending part of the time in

Houston, Texas Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

before Machida and White bouts, Hoger decided to relocate completely to Houston. He opened

Houston gym in 2007 before founding his own Hoger MMA gym in Houston which opened on April 13, 2009. In 2015, Hoger moved to

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, and founded Real Martial Arts gym.

Awards

* In 1996, Sam Hoger was awarded the Alaska State Medal of Heroism for saving a drowning teammate by Gov. Tony Knowles.Nancy Gates "The Alaska Almanac: Facts about Alaska" Edition 30, (2009) * Sam Hoger received his black belt from Ted Stickel of Gracie Barra Alaska on July 1, 2009, being only the second person to receive this distinguishing honor from Ted Stickel.

Championships and accomplishments

*Urban Rumble Championship **URC Heavyweight Championship (One time)

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Win , align=center, 10–4 , Jody Poff , Submission (armbar) , FNMMA – Fight Night MMA , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:50 ,

Fort Wayne, Indiana Fort Wayne is a city in and the county seat of Allen County, Indiana, United States. Located in northeastern Indiana, the city is west of the Ohio border and south of the Michigan border. The city's population was 263,886 as of the 2020 Censu ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 9–4 , Patrick Miller , TKO (punches) , WG – Worldwide Gladiator , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:27 ,

Pasadena, Texas Pasadena () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, within the metropolitan area. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city's population was 151,950, making it the twentieth most populous city in the state of Texas, as well as the second-largest cit ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 8–4 , Johnathan Ivey , Submission (kimura) , URC – Urban Rumble Championship , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 0:35 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 7–4 , Jason Dolloff , TKO (punches) , World Championship Fighting – World Championship Fighting 4 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:17 ,

Wilmington, Massachusetts Wilmington is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. Its population was 23,349 at the 2020 United States census. History Wilmington was first settled in 1665 and was officially incorporated in 1730, from parts of Woburn, Readi ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 6–4 , Vernon White , Submission (rear-naked choke) , International Fight League – Moline , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 3:25 ,

Moline, Illinois Moline ( ) is a city located in Rock Island County, Illinois, United States. With a population of 42,985 in 2020, it is the largest city in Rock Island County. Moline is one of the Quad Cities, along with neighboring East Moline, Illinois, East M ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 6–3 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , UFC 67 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 6–2 ,

, Decision (split) , UFC Fight Night 4 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 6–1 , Jeff Newton , Submission (rear-naked choke) ,

, , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:05 ,

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 5–1 ,

Stephan Bonnar Stephan Patrick Bonnar (April 4, 1977 – December 22, 2022) was an American mixed martial artist. Bonnar competed as a Light Heavyweight in the UFC for most of his career. Bonnar was the runner-up on The Ultimate Fighter 1, his TUF Ultimate Fi ...

, Decision (unanimous) , UFC Ultimate Fight Night , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 5–0 ,

Bobby Southworth Bobby Masai Southworth (born December 16, 1969) is a retired American mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist who fought in the Light Heavyweight (MMA), Light Heavyweight division. He has fought in PRIDE FC and appeared on Season 1 of The Ultima ...

, Decision (unanimous) ,

, , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 , Chris Herring , Submission (guillotine choke) , MMA – Eruption , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:37 ,

Lowell, Massachusetts Lowell () is a city in Massachusetts, in the United States. Alongside Cambridge, It is one of two traditional seats of Middlesex County. With an estimated population of 115,554 in 2020, it was the fifth most populous city in Massachusetts as of ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Adam Maciejewski , Submission (triangle choke) , EC 54 – Extreme Challenge 54 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:29 ,

Lakemoor, Illinois Lakemoor is a village in Lake and McHenry counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. Per the 2020 census, the population was 6,182. Geography Lakemoor is located at (42.3401437, -88.2031240). According to the 2010 census, Lakemoor has a total are ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Josh Hendricks , Submission (arm-triangle choke) , NLF – Next Level Fighting , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:41 ,

Steubenville, Ohio Steubenville is a city in and the county seat of Jefferson County, Ohio, United States. Located along the Ohio River 33 miles west of Pittsburgh, it had a population of 18,161 at the 2020 census. The city's name is derived from Fort Steuben, a 1 ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Matt Freeland , KO (kick) , AOW – Art of War , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:15 ,

Kalispell, Montana Kalispell (, Montana Salish: Ql̓ispé, Kutenai language: kqayaqawakⱡuʔnam) is a city in, and the county seat of, Flathead County, Montana, United States. The 2020 census put Kalispell's population at 24,558. In Montana's northwest region, ...

, United States ,

Amateur mixed martial arts record

, - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , John Accardo , TKO (referee stoppage) , RCF 14: Reality Combat Fighting 14 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:36 , United States , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Robert DiMarco , Submission (rear-naked choke) , RCF 9: Reality Combat Fighting 9 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:26 ,

Houma, Louisiana Houma ( ) is the largest city in, and the parish seat of, Terrebonne Parish in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is also the largest principal city of the Houma– Bayou Cane–Thibodaux metropolitan statistical area. The city's government ...

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References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hoger, Sam 1980 births Living people American male mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists from Alaska Light heavyweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing karate Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu American practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu People awarded a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu American male karateka Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters