# Matt Sayles

Matt Sayles (born February 21, 1994) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Featherweight division. A professional competitor since 2014, he has also competed with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), Xplode MMA, World Series of Fighting and Cage Fury.

## Mixed martial arts career
### Amateur career

Matt Sayles began his mixed martial arts career as an amateur, competing with Xplode MMA. He made his debut aged 18, during XFS Amateur Series 1, when he faced fellow debutante Dominick Griffen. Sayles would go on to win in the second round by a rear naked choke.
His next fight was against Beau Hart for the vacant Xplode MMA Featherweight Championship, where he won the fight with a KO in the first round. His third and last amateur fight was a defense of the title, against Mike Willis, which he won by TKO.

### Early career

Sayles made his professional debut with Xplode MMA in 2014, when he faced Chris Floyd. He won the fight by TKO in the first round.
Fighting with various promotions during the next three years, Sayles amassed a 6-1 record, culminating in an appearance on Dana White's Contender Series 10, where he won by TKO against Yazan Hajeh, which earned him an UFC contract.

### Ultimate Fighting Championship

Sayles made his UFC debut during UFC 227 when he fought Sheymon Moraes. Sayles would suffer multiple eye pokes during the fight, and ended up losing a controversial decision.
Sayles next faced Kyle Nelson on May 4, 2019, at UFC Fight Night 151. He won the fight via submission via arm-triangle choke 3:16 into round 3.
Sayles faced Bryce Mitchell on December 7, 2019, at UFC on ESPN: Overeem vs. Rozenstruik. He lost the fight by submission from a twister in the first round.
Sayles faced Jordan Leavitt on December 18, 2021, at UFC Fight Night: Lewis vs. Daukaus. He lost the bout via inverted triangle choke in the second round.
On January 12, 2022, it was announced that Sayles's contract was not renewed.

### Post UFC

Sayles was scheduled to face Tyrek Malveaux on April 2, 2022, at XMMA 4. However, the bout was cancelled as a result of Sayles' withdrawal.

## Mixed martial arts record

Professional record breakdown :
| 12 matches | 8 wins | 4 losses |
| By knockout | 6 | 0 |
| By submission | 1 | 2 |
| By decision | 1 | 2 |
| Res. | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
| Loss | 8–4 | Jordan Leavitt | Submission (inverted triangle choke) | UFC Fight Night: Lewis vs. Daukaus | December 18, 2021 | 2 | 2:05 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | Lightweight bout. |
| Loss | 8–3 | Bryce Mitchell | Submission (twister) | UFC on ESPN: Overeem vs. Rozenstruik | December 7, 2019 | 1 | 4:20 | Washington D.C., United States | Catchweight (148.5 lb) bout; Sayles missed weight |
| Win | 8–2 | Kyle Nelson | Submission (arm-triangle choke) | UFC Fight Night: Iaquinta vs. Cowboy | May 4, 2019 | 3 | 3:16 | Ottawa, Ontario, Canada | |
| Loss | 7–2 | Sheymon Moraes | Decision (unanimous) | UFC 227 | August 4, 2018 | 3 | 5:00 | Los Angeles, California, United States | |
| Win | 7–1 | Yazan Hajeh | TKO (punches) | Dana White's Contender Series 10 | June 19, 2018 | 1 | 1:57 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | Return to Featherweight. |
| Win | 6–1 | Christian Aguilera | TKO (punches) | CFFC 64: Sayles vs. Aguilera | March 25, 2017 | 1 | 1:51 | San Diego, California, United States | Lightweight debut. |
| Loss | 5–1 | George Hickman | Decision (split) | PFC 1 | December 10, 2016 | 3 | 5:00 | Zouk Mikael, Lebanon | |
| Win | 5–0 | Ryan Lang | KO (punch) | RFA 38: Moisés vs. Emmers | June 3, 2016 | 1 | 0:59 | Costa Mesa, California, United States | |
| Win | 4–0 | DeMarcus Brown | TKO (punches) | Smash Global: The Main Event 3 | March 26, 2016 | 3 | 4:12 | Los Angeles, California, United States | Return to Featherweight; Brown missed weight (149.2 lb). |
| Win | 3–0 | Bryson Hansen | Decision (unanimous) | WSOF 12 | August 9, 2014 | 3 | 5:00 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | Bantamweight debut. |
| Win | 2–0 | Dylan Stanfield | TKO (punches) | Xplode Fight Series: Fire | March 22, 2014 | 1 | 0:46 | Valley Center, California, United States | |
| Win | 1–0 | Chris Floyd | TKO (retirement) | Xplode Fight Series: Aggression | January 18, 2014 | 1 | 1:15 | Valley Center, California, United States | Featherweight debut. |

## Amateur mixed martial arts record

| Amateur record breakdown | Amateur record breakdown | |
| 3 matches | 3 wins | 0 losses |
| By knockout | 2 | 0 |
| By submission | 1 | 0 |
| Res. | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
| Win | 3–0 | Mike Willis | TKO (punches) | Xplode Fight Series - Vengeance | January 19, 2013 | 1 | 1:50 | Valley Center, California, United States | Defended the Amateur Xplode MMA Featherweight Championship |
| Win | 2–0 | Beau Hart | KO (punch) | Xplode Fight Series - Eclipse | July 28, 2012 | 1 | 0:36 | Valley Center, California, United States | Won the Amateur Xplode MMA Featherweight Championship |
| Win | 1–0 | Dominick Griffen | Submission (rear-naked choke) | Xplode Amateur Fight Series - XAFS 1: Revolution | February 25, 2012 | 2 | 2:32 | Valley Center, California, United States | |