For UFC on FOX 23, Sam Alvey had to ready for Nate Marquardt – and his altitude advantage

DENVER – After Sam Alvey had to go 15 minutes to get a win over Alex Nicholson this past November, he had a little bit of a revelation.

It was the first time Alvey needed to get to the judges for a win since his final fight before signing with the UFC. Before the Nicholson fight, all five of his UFC victories had been by stoppage (though two of his three losses went three rounds).

But in Mexico City at UFC Fight Night 98, Alvey could feel the altitude taking a toll on him.

“After my last fight – which was in Mexico City, which is 1,000 or 2,000 feet higher than (Denver) – I noticed something with my lungs,” Alvey told MMAjunkie. “My power – my actual hitting power – wasn’t there like it normally is. So I’ve paid attention to that with my strength and conditioning coaches, and I’ve punched a lot more prior to this one.”

This one features Alvey (29-8 MMA, 6-3 UFC) against Nate Marquardt (35-16-2 MMA, 13-9 UFC) in a middleweight fight at UFC on FOX 23, which takes place Saturday at Denver’s Pepsi Center. The main card airs on FOX following prelims, including Alvey vs. Marquardt, on FS1 and UFC Fight Pass.

Marquardt has been a longtime Denver staple, so the altitude issues in the “Mile-High City” shouldn’t be there for him. And Alvey believes he’s done ample preparation to make sure they’re not a factor in the fight for him, either.

“My wife did some research and bought me an altitude tent,” Alvey said. “I’ve been sleeping at 9,000 feet for the last nine or 10 weeks. I came out here a week early just to make sure everything felt good, and everything still feels great. So I’m real excited that hopefully he’ll underestimate me a little bit.”

Alvey is a slight favorite in the fight, which closes out the FS1-broadcast preliminary card just ahead of the four-fight main card on FOX.

Alvey has three straight wins after a two-fight skid to Derek Brunson and Elias Theodorou, which was the first time in his career he had befallen back-to-back losses. Now he has a trio of consecutive victories for the second time in the UFC, and a win over a veteran like Marquardt arguably would be the biggest of his career.

“Nate Marquardt is one of the few fighters on the planet who has more fights than me,” Alvey said. “I’m catching up to him as fast as I can, but he’s still got me by a few. I think that’s probably his biggest, best asset. He knows everything. He’s been a black belt longer than I’ve been fighting. He’s been everywhere around the world, and I have too. But he lives in Denver, so he’s got a lot of pluses going into this fight.

“But I’ve put together a real solid game plan, a great camp. Sean Strickland – he’s just an incredible training partner, and I’m ready for this. I feel great. I’m just ready for this.”

Alvey and Marquardt are no strangers – Marquardt helped coach Alvey on Season 16 of “The Ultimate Fighter,” and he then briefly trained with him in Denver. So he may have something to say about just how ready Alvey is. Alvey just believes he’ll have a counter.

For more on UFC on FOX 23, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.