Sam Kristen Hughes (born June 28, 1992) is an American

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 ...

who is currently competing in the Strawweight division of 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 ...

(UFC).

Background

Hughes grew up with three older brothers in South Carolina, where she also ran track in high school. At

Wofford College Wofford College is a private liberal arts college in Spartanburg, South Carolina. It was founded in 1854. The campus is a national arboretum and one of the few four-year institutions in the southeastern United States founded before the America ...

for her undergraduate studies in accounting and finance, she ran track and field and cross country at

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of College athletics, intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major ...

level. She continued competing in track when she made the move to the University of South Carolina to pursue her masters in Sports Management. But after graduation, Hughes took a job in the finance world, which took her to

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

. A friend invited her to Catalyst Fight House, in

Everett, Washington Everett is the county seat and largest city of Snohomish County, Washington, United States. It is north of Seattle and is one of the main cities in the metropolitan area and the Puget Sound region. Everett is the seventh-largest city in the ...

and Hughes embarked on her amateur career in 2016 after a few months training at Catalyst. Hughes turned pro in 2019, due to her last amateur opponent, Melanie McIntyre, who after losing to Hughes, wanted a rematch as a pro. However, McIntyre pulled out of the fight and Hughes wound up making her debut a month later.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Making her MMA debut at COGA 62 Supreme Showdown 4, she defeated Kayla Frajman via rear-naked choke in the first round. Hughes would collect two more stoppage victories, one by second round TKO and the other by first round armbar submission. In her debut fight for

Legacy Fighting Alliance Legacy Fighting Alliance is an American mixed martial arts promotion, created as a result of the ''Legacy Fighting Championship'' and ''Resurrection Fighting Alliance'' merger in early 2017. History Resurrection Fighting Alliance On October 11, ...

at LFA 81, she took on Lisa Mauldin and defeated her via unanimous decision. Hughes faced

Vanessa Demopoulos Crystal Vanessa Demopoulos (born September 22, 1988) is an American female mixed martial artist who competes in the Strawweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background Born in Cleveland, Ohio, her parents and paternal grand ...

for the inaugural LFA Women's Strawweight Championship on July 17, 2020 at LFA 85. She lost the bout after being choked unconscious in the 4th round via inverted triangle choke. Hughes faced Danielle Hindley on October 16, 202 at LFA 93. She won the bout, chocking Hindley unconscious via guillotine choke at the end of the first round.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Replacing

Angela Hill Angela Patrice Hill (born January 12, 1985) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the strawweight division. She was formerly signed with the Invicta Fighting Championships, of which she was the strawweight champion. She is also ...

who tested positive for

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, Hughes signed with the UFC and faced

Tecia Torres Tecia Lyn Torres Moncaio (born August 16, 1989) is an American mixed martial artist who is currently competing in the strawweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of October 24, 2022, she is #8 in the UFC women's straww ...

. She lost the fight via doctor stoppage between round one and two after saying she couldn't see out of one of her eyes. Hughes, as a replacement for

Hannah Cifers Hannah Lucinda Cifers (born June 26, 1992) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the strawweight division. She formerly fought in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Mixed martial arts career Early career Cifers made he ...

, was expected to face

Emily Whitmire Emily Anne Whitmire (born May 24, 1991) is an American mixed martial artist (MMA) who currently competes in the Strawweight division of the Invicta FC. She has previously competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Background The daug ...

on February 27, 2021 at UFC Fight Night: Rozenstruik vs. Gane. Whitmire was removed from the bout on February 14 due to undisclosed reasons, and the bout was cancelled. Hughes faced

Loma Lookboonmee Suphisara Konlak ( th, สุภิสรา คนหลัก) (born January 18, 1996), best known professionally as Loma Lookboonmee ( th, โลมา ลูกบุญมี), is a Thai martial artist who has competed in Muay Thai, boxing, ...

on May 1, 2021 at UFC on ESPN: Reyes vs. Procházka. She lost the bout via unanimous decision. Hughes was scheduled to face

Lupita Godinez Lupita "Loopy" Godínez (born September 6, 1993) is a Mexican-Canadian female mixed martial artist who competes in the Strawweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. As of November 14, 2023, she is #11 in the UFC women's strawweight ...

on October 9, 2021 at UFC Fight Night: Dern vs. Rodriguez. However, Hughes was pulled from the bout for testing positive of Covid-19 and she was replaced by newcomer Silvana Gomez Juarez. Hughes, as a replacement for

Jessica Penne Jessica Marie Penne (born January 30, 1983) is an American professional mixed martial artist. Penne currently competes in the Women's Strawweight division for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). She was the first Invicta FC Atomweight Cha ...

, faced

Luana Pinheiro Luana Munize Barbosa Pinheiro (born November 18, 1993) is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist who competes in the strawweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. As of May 2, 2023, she is #13 in the UFC women's strawweigh ...

on November 20, 2021 at UFC Fight Night: Vieira vs. Tate. She lost the bout via unanimous decision. Hughes faced Istela Nunes at

UFC on ESPN 34 ''UFC on ESPN: Luque vs. Muhammad 2'' (also known as ''UFC on ESPN 34'' and ''UFC Vegas 51'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on April 16, 2022, at the UFC Apex facility in Enterprise, ...

on April 16, 2022. She won the fight via majority decision. The bout marked the last of her prevailing contract. Hughes faced

Elise Reed Elise Reed (born December 5, 1992) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Strawweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background Reed started martial arts at six years old by competing in Taekwondo, then moving o ...

UFC Fight Night 206 ''UFC Fight Night: Holm vs. Vieira'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 206'', ''UFC on ESPN+ 64'' or ''UFC Vegas 55'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on May 21, 2022, at the UFC Apex f ...

on May 21, 2022. She won the fight via technical knockout in round three. Hughes faced Piera Rodríguez on October 15, 2022 at

UFC Fight Night 212 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 ...

. She lost the bout via unanimous decision. Hughes faced Jacqueline Amorim on April 8, 2023, at

UFC 287 ''UFC 287: Pereira vs. Adesanya 2'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on April 8, 2023, at the Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida, United States. Background The event marked the promotion' ...

. She won the fight by unanimous decision. Hughes is scheduled to face

on September 16, 2023, at

UFC Fight Night 227 ''UFC Fight Night: Grasso vs. Shevchenko 2'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 227'', ''UFC on ESPN+ 85'' and ''Noche UFC'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on September 16, 2023, at th ...

Mixed martial arts record

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Miami, Florida Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

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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 ...

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, TKO (doctor stoppage) ,

UFC 256 ''UFC 256: Figueiredo vs. Moreno'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on December 12, 2020 at the UFC Apex facility in Enterprise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Area, United ...

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Park City, Kansas Park City is a city in Sedgwick County, Kansas, United States, and a suburb of Wichita. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 8,333. History The first Park City was founded in 1870. Located to the northwest of Wichita, it w ...

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, Technical Submission (inverted triangle choke) , LFA 85 , , align=center, 4 , align=center, 2:21 ,

Sioux Falls, South Dakota Sioux Falls () is the most populous city in the U.S. state of South Dakota and the 130th-most populous city in the United States. It is the county seat of Minnehaha County and also extends into Lincoln County to the south, which continues up ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 , Lisa Mauldin , Decision (unanimous) , LFA 81 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Costa Mesa, California Costa Mesa (; Spanish for "Table Coast") is a city in Orange County, California. Since its incorporation in 1953, the city has grown from a semi-rural farming community of 16,840 to an urban area including part of the South Coast Plaza–John Wa ...

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Anacortes, Washington Anacortes ( ) is a city in Skagit County, Washington, United States. The name "Anacortes" is an adaptation of the name of Anne Curtis Bowman, who was the wife of early Fidalgo Island settler Amos Bowman.Dallas, Texas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County w ...

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Tulalip, Washington The Tulalip Tribes of Washington (, lut, dxʷlilap), formerly known as the Tulalip Tribes of the Tulalip Reservation, is a federally recognized tribe of Duwamish, Snohomish, Snoqualmie, Skagit, Suiattle, Samish, and Stillaguamish people. Th ...

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References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hughes, Sam 1992 births Living people American female mixed martial artists Strawweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu Ultimate Fighting Championship female fighters American practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu Female Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioners