Sam Patterson Found His Groove

His newest matchup comes against the undefeated Danny Barlow in the UFC APEX. It marks Patterson’s second trip to the Vegas venue, and he doesn’t feel any sort of sour luck about missing out on UFC’s return to London later this month at UFC Fight Night: Edwards vs Brady.

“I actually prefer fighting abroad,” Patterson said. “Yes, of course, I'd love to fight home as well. There are pros and cons to both, but March 1 is before March 22, so I was more than happy to get out. I've been itching to go since my last fight, so whatever comes first.”

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The bout pits a pair of Dana White’s Contender Series alumni against one another, as Barlow secured his contract in September 2023. He picked up a pair of wins in his first two Octagon appearances, knocking out Josh Quinlan in February 2024 before besting Nikolay Veretennikovon the scorecards six months later. 

 Seeing as Patterson holds seven submissions to his name while Barlow’s record shows five knockouts, one could see how this is the usual striker-vs-grappler clash. Naturally, however, Patterson sees the fight in a much more nuanced way.

“He’s undefeated for a reason,” Patterson said. “He's good. I'm ready to go. I just focused on the fight so much that I'm ready to go in there and take that ‘0’. From what we’ve seen in his fights, his striking is elite. He knocks his opponents out, but this is a mixed martial arts contest, to be honest. I'm going in there ready for everything. You never know. He might shoot a takedown on me. I think everyone looks at it as grappler versus striker, but I'm a mixed martial artist, so I'm prepared for everything. Striking, grappling, wrestling, bring it on.”

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With both fighters shy of their 30th birthdays (Patterson is 28, Barlow is 29), it’s certainly a matchup between welterweight prospects. Beating a fellow prospect is crucial in distinguishing oneself and potentially scoring an opportunity to climb even closer to the Top 15, which Patterson certainly has on the mind.

Ideally, he wants to get three fights and three wins in 2025 to potentially put his name in the ring for a Top 15 matchup sooner than later. None of those hopes matter, however, unless he gets the job done against the dangerous Barlow.   

Patterson has the utmost confidence that, when he is on his game, that game is at least worthy of Top 15 recognition. It’s his job to prove it just like he proved he was UFC quality in 2022. Now, with three walks to the Octagon and two wins under his belt, he brings his journey full circlewith even bigger ambitions in tow.

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“Back to where it all began, where the dream become a reality,” he said. “It's good to be back as a UFC fighter. When you're on Dana White’s Contender Series, you're not there yet. You gottaprove yourself one more time, but this time I am a UFC fighter.”