Longtime UFC lightweight Sam Stout is a fighter with highly regarded striking and nine of his 20 career wins coming by way of knockout or TKO.
However, in 15 career bouts in the UFC he has gone the distance in all but two of them.
Stout has a simple explanation for this: It’s really difficult to finish a fellow UFC-calibre competitor.
“It’s a tough feeling. I know all the fans want to see fights finished and I’m a striker, I try and do it every time, but you don’t make it to the UFC, you don’t make it to the highest level if you have a soft chin if you get knocked out easy,” Stout told Showdown Joe Ferraro on the latest episode of UFC Central Radio on Sportsnet 590 the Fan.
UFC Central Radio on Sportsnet 590 the Fan
“Like, a lot of these guys can take a lot of punishment and durability is a big reason of why guys make it to where they are. I’m somebody that can attest to that,” Stout added.
Stout has spent over three hours and 20 minutes competing in the Octagon throughout his career – fourth most in UFC lightweight history behind only Frankie Edgar, Clay Guida and BJ Penn.
The London, Ont., native is also a five-time Fight of the Night winner – which is tied for second most in UFC history — and took home Knockout of the Night for his lone stoppage victory in the UFC when he KO’d Yves Edwards with a brutal left hook at UFC 131 in Vancouver.
Stout will look to pick up his second stoppage win in the UFC when he takes on Isaac Vallie-Flagg on June 15 at UFC 161 in Winnipeg in a fight he thinks Octagon experience will play a factor.
“This is going to be my 16th fight in the UFC and I think I’m going to be more comfortable in there,” Stout said. “The 12-fight unbeaten streak (that Vallie-Flagg is currently on) is pretty impressive but … it wasn’t in the big show.
“I came into the UFC on a 10-fight win streak and once you get here it’s a whole new level of competition and I plan on showing that.”
Stout says he’s been getting some solid sparring with the likes of Jesse Ronson, Jesse Gross, Chad Laprise, Malcolm Gordon and Chris Horodecki at his gym, the Adrenaline Training Centre in London, in preparation for this bout.
His UFC 161 tilt with Vallie-Flagg will mark the second consecutive fight against a Strikeforce veteran for Stout.
Stout is coming off a split decision win over Caros Fodor at UFC 157 in February and says he learned a lot in that outing.
“The biggest lesson is not to underestimate any of these guys coming in from Strikeforce,” Stout explained. “They’re tough; they’re bringing it and can hang with the UFC vets because I had my hands full with (Fodor).”
