Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
While some fighters are turning to sports psychologists, Sam Alvey is giving hypnotism a shot.
Sam Alvey is using hypnotism to snap out of his recent losing streak.
Alvey looked to be on the verge of big things after moving up to light-heavyweight, but back-to-back losses to Antônio Rogério Nogueira and Jimmy Crute have stifled his momentum. Heading into his UFC San Antonio bout with Klidson Abreu, Alvey is trying something new during his training camp.
“Smilin’” Sam enlisted the services of Dominique Bertoncini, a hypnotist and mental coach who has worked with Khalil Rountree Jr. and Julian Marquez. “I’m kind of playing it by ear. I enjoy it. I’m going to see how I fight,” Alvey told Bloody Elbow. “I do feel like I’ve been practicing more efficiently. I feel like things we’ve been working on I’ve been showing in practice. I look forward to seeing if something mentally clicks during the fight.”
“He’s very, very good. He works with me very well,” Alvey continued. “It’s a lot of visualization. Really trying to get you into a state where you are willing to accept an influence… If I want to keep my right hand up, he’ll say, ‘okay, get your ‘lax state. Close your eyes and let the inner you shine through a bit. Just relax and just listen. Don’t think, just listen.’ He’ll really relax you and say, ‘listen, keep that right hand up. You’re going to keep that right hand up.’ If you hear the same thing over and over, it’s going to help.”
Alvey is not convinced about the more cliche applications of hypnotism, but he is willing to consider its usefulness for subtle mental conditioning. “If he can make me cluck like a chicken every time he snaps his fingers, I’m not sure if that’s possible,” he confessed. “But I do believe he can help me keep my right hand up or my left heel off the ground or my jab a little faster.”
Touching on his last fight with Jimmy Crute, Alvey said, “I always like to joke the biggest takeaway is don’t have Marc Goddard as my referee. It’s funny because he is a good referee. I watch him and I want to hate on him now, but he does a good job unless it’s me in there.”
Alvey considers Goddard’s stoppage of the Crute fight premature. The official loss came by way of first-round TKO.
“I know I couldn’t fight to my full potential if he was in my ring. Power to him, he’s a great referee, but I just can’t risk him being my referee,” he asserted. When asked why so many fighters have altercations with Goddard, Alvey suggested, “well this is all perspective but he’s kind of a d—k. I hope that’s not the headline of this interview.” Don’t worry Sam, it wasn’t.
Alvey’s Instagram followers know he is the proud owner of two hairless cats. He has challenged to pitch his beloved “testicle”-like felines to Bloody Elbow readers. “I’m not a cat guy. I am a dog guy. Cats, take them or leave them. These cats and their personalities, they enjoy being around me,” he pitched. “They’re crazy. Everybody likes seeing them whether they think the cats are gross looking or not. I get to be the center of attention a little bit when showing them off. They’re dog like, it’s crazy.”
Alvey fights Abreu at UFC San Antonio on Saturday, July 20. The event is headlined by a significant welterweight fight bout between Rafael dos Anjos and Leon Edwards.