Samuel Earl Hoger (/ˈhoʊɡər/; born June 28, 1980)[1] is an American retired mixed martial artist, poker player, and an actor, most notable for appearing on the first season of The Ultimate Fighter, a reality television series produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship and broadcast on Spike TV.
[2] The family moved to Alaska when Sam was a teenager, where he got interested in Brazilian jiu-jitsu and started training under Ted Stickel around the age of 13.
[2] Sam graduated from Chugiak High School and got a senatorial nomination to United States Military Academy.
[2][4] He then received a merit-based scholarship to LSU from where he graduated with two Political Science degrees (Theory and Government) Class of 2002.
[5] Hoger made his amateur debut on January 27, 2001, when he faced Robert DiMarco at Reality Combat Fighting 9.
His comments at the time suggested a calculated and Machiavellian effort on his part to win the show by fighting as late as possible.
[8] On the night of The Ultimate Fighter 1 Finale,[9] he won a Unanimous decision against Bobby Southworth, who was considered to be the best light heavyweight on the show by Chuck Liddell, Randy Couture, and Dana White, due to his pre-show professional record.
[13] In his first fight outside of the UFC, Hoger replaced Mike Ciesnolevicz to face longtime MMA fighter Vernon White at IFL: Moline on April 7, 2007.
[16] Hoger knocked out Dolloff just under twenty seconds into the first round, snapping his three-fight losing streak in the process.