UFC Middleweight rising star Sam Alvey has been lighting up rooms with his signature smile for as long as he can remember. Over the past two plus years he has become more recognizable for lighting up his opponents inside the Octagon.

Later this month Alvey faces his most difficult Octagon test to date as he steps back in the cage to square off against former UFC middleweight title contender Nate Marquardt on the main card at UFC on FOX 23 on January 28th.

“This is awesome.” Alvey said. “Nate is easily the best opponent I have ever fought. Not taking anything away from anyone else but he has fought for the title. He has more fights than me. It’s hard to find people with more fights than me and he’s got them. I am beyond amazed at how cool of an opportunity this is.”

With only three submissions to his name, Alvey is looking to test himself and attempt to drown the shark by besting the grappling specialist and former King of Pancrase Marquardt in his world.

“I would love to submit Nate in the third round. He is a submission guy. I would love to beat him at his own game.”

Riding a three-fight winning streak, the wily veteran of nearly 40 professional fights is on the come up in the sport’s premiere organization. He is well aware that a big fight on big FOX is an extremely rare opportunity to shine on the sport’s greatest stage. Alvey also realizes that a win over an MMA household name such as Marquardt could have him climbing that imaginary ladder higher up the rankings.

None of that is Alvey’s focus at the moment. He is just happy getting in the Octagon and scrapping as often as possible.

“He’s up there.” Alvey said. “We are ranked somewhat close to one another. It’s another cool fight. I want to put on cool fights for the fans. My ranking doesn’t matter so much. I will get to that title eventually. For now, I want to keep fighting as often as the UFC will put me in that cage.”

The Team Quest fighter is a man who has always been down to get after it, as evidenced by the amazing feat of fighting three times in a 70 day stretch earlier in his UFC run. The mindset of making that walk and getting back in the cage so fast is one many aren’t very familiar with in the current era of MMA and in that sense Alvey is a throwback to an earlier time.

“I just always fought.” Alvey said. “I had one year where I fought twelve times in twelve months. I was beat to hell come January but it was a great year. I have always had that mentality and I have always continued with that mentality throughout my career.

“It’s what I have always done. I didn’t know what the UFC was when I first started fighting. I didn’t know this was something I could do. It was just something I liked doing. It turned out I was OK at it. Somewhere along the line I realized I could make money doing this. Then somewhere after that I found the UFC and realized I could really make money doing this.”  

Alvey’s competitive fire doesn’t flame out when he steps away from combat sports. It engulfs nearly every other aspect of his life.

He recently crossed paths with everyone’s favorite beer guzzling, middle finger flipping former WWE superstar “Stone Cold” Steve Austin. Alvey stepped out of the Octagon and onto the ranch and competed on Steve Austin’s Broken Skull Challenge on an episode that recently aired on CMT.

“The show was a lot of fun.” Alvey said. “It was two days after I fought, so I was little beat up. I did the whole challenge with a broken foot and a sprained thumb. It was way hotter than they made it seem. It was disgustingly hot. It was 110 degrees outside. It was high desert in California.”

Alvey isn’t content with a singular appearance on a competitive reality show. He is looking to open a can on any and all such shows that will have him. Whether it be testing his skills in the kitchen, on the dance floor or anywhere in between, Alvey is ready to throw down.  

“I’m all in on any show.” Alvey said. “You put me on Dancing with the Starts or you can out me on Chopped. I want to beat people at everything.”