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 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 . He lost the fight by submission from a twister in the first round. Sayles faced Jordan Leavitt on December 18, 2021  at . 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 is scheduled to face Tyrek Malveaux on April 2, 2022 at XMMA 4.