Sam Hughes

Overview

Twelve UFC fights, ten of them decided on the scorecards. Sam "Sampage" Hughes, a Women's Strawweight out of Fortis MMA, sits at 6-6 in the UFC, and the record tells you what kind of fighter she is: one who goes the distance and lives or dies by the judges.

Two of her six wins ended early, one by TKO and one by submission. The other four went to decision, and two of those were split calls. Five of her six losses also went to the cards.

She has never finished a fight in the first round. That doesn't make her slow, it makes her patient. The question is whether patience wins enough close rounds.

UFC Career

Hughes debuted at UFC 256 in December 2020 and lost to Tecia Pennington by KO/TKO, the only time she has been stopped. Two decision losses followed, to Loma Lookboonmee and Luana Pinheiro. Three fights, three losses.

The turn came in 2022. She beat Istela Nunes by majority decision in April, then stopped Elise Reed in the third round at 3:52 a month later. A decision loss to Piera Rodriguez interrupted the run, but a unanimous decision over Jaqueline Amorim in April 2023 put her back in the win column.

A decision loss to Yazmin Jauregui in February 2024 was followed by her best stretch: split decisions over Viktoriia Dudakova and Stephanie Luciano, then a second-round submission of Shauna Bannon in September 2025. That made three straight wins, her longest UFC streak.

She carries a loss into her next fight. In March 2026 she dropped a unanimous decision to Rodriguez in the rematch.

Six wins, six losses, and almost nothing decided by anyone but the judges.

Fighting Style

Hughes is a busy striker who stays active on the feet and defends well. She also takes more shots than most, so her fights are rarely clean exchanges. Her accuracy sits around the UFC average.

The grappling side is where she stands out. She is very hard to take down, but she rarely shoots for takedowns herself and almost never hunts submissions.

Four of her six UFC wins have come on the scorecards, and only two have ended early. Her one submission win came in the second round and her one TKO in the third. Neither finish came in the first round.

Notable Wins

• Shauna Bannon — submission, round 2 (1:58), UFC Fight Night: Imavov vs Borralho (2025)
• Elise Reed — KO/TKO, round 3 (3:52), UFC Fight Night: Holm vs. Vieira (2022)
• Viktoriia Dudakova — split decision, round 3, UFC Fight Night: Sandhagen vs Nurmagomedov (2024)
• Jaqueline Amorim — unanimous decision, round 3, UFC 287 (2023)

Quick Facts

• Division: Women's Strawweight
• UFC record: 6-6 (1 KO/TKO, 1 submission, 4 decisions)
• Professional record (all promotions): 11-7-0
• UFC debut: 2020
• Stance: Orthodox
• Height / reach: 5'5" / 64"
• Team: Fortis MMA
• Born: Davenport, IA, United States