Athletes
Prospect To Watch | Sam Patterson
Welterweight Prospect Sam Patterson Aims For A Fourth Straight Victory When He Meets Trey Waters At UFC Paris
The welterweight division has become one of the most exciting divisions in the UFC lately, filled with a ton of up-and-coming prospects, as well as intriguing matchups in the top 15. The division got shook up back in May when Perth’s Jack Della Maddalena dethroned Belal Muhammad in Montreal to claim the belt at 170 pounds.
One of those prospects you need to keep an eye on in the welterweight division is Sam Patterson. He returns to competition this Saturday inside Accor Arena when he faces Trey “The Truth” Waters at UFC Fight Night: Imavov vs Borralho. The Brit got his start on the UFC scene when he competed on season 6 of Dana White’s Contender Series back in 2022. During that fight, he faced Vinicius Cenci and was able to lock up a second-round submission to earn a UFC contract.
Check Out The UFC Paris Fight Card
Things didn’t exactly get off to a glamorous start for the 29-year-old in his UFC debut. He made his debut down a division at 155 pounds against Yanal Ashmouz in front of the London crowd at UFC 286 back in 2023. Patterson suffered a first-round knockout loss against Ashmouz in his first walk to the Octagon.
Following that fight, Patterson took some time off, returning to competition in January of 2024 in Toronto, this time in a new weight class, the welterweight division. The move up to 170 pounds has proved to pay off, as Patterson has earned stoppage wins in all of his fights since changing weight classes.
Patterson entered enemy territory in Canada when he faced Yohan Lainesse, but that didn’t rattle him at all, as he made it look easy, locking up the rear-naked choke victory within two minutes of the first round.
Six months later, Patterson made the walk in front of the Manchester crowd at UFC 304, looking to put on a better performance than he did the last time he competed in the United Kingdom. And it most definitely was a performance that had the crowd on their feet, and celebrating for him. Once again, Patterson showed off his skills on the ground, as he took his opponent, Kiefer Crosbie, to the canvas, locking up the arm-triangle choke in the first round.
READ: Fighters On The Rise | UFC Paris
To kick off his 2025 campaign, Patterson showed off his abilities on the feet when he faced Danny Barlow in the APEX. Heading into the fight, Patterson told UFC.com that he prepared fighting abroad, and being back in Las Vegas and at the APEX felt like home given the success he had on back on Contender Series.
He took the energy he gained when he fought on Contender Series and used it once again, as he notched his third straight first-round finish, but this time it was done all by striking. Patterson entered the fight as a significant underdog but was able to prove the oddsmakers wrong as he extended his win streak to three in a row and continued to show his skillset at 170 pounds.
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Patterson faces another tough test on Saturday night when he faces Waters, who has picked up wins in both of his UFC bouts so far. Waters has earned unanimous decision victories over Josh Quinlan and Billy Goff but has not competed yet this year. All but one of Patterson’s wins have ended inside the distance, and he’ll surely be hunting to secure another one against Waters in Paris.
UFC Fight Night: Imavov vs Borralho took place live from Accor Arena in Paris, France on September 6, 2025. See the final Prelim & Main Card Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC FIGHT PASS!
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