On Saturday night at UFC Vegas 47, Sam Alvey’s winless skid hit a nearly unheard of 8 fights in a row.

Fairly or not, Alvey has become something of a posterboy for the UFC’s uneven treatment of their roster. Every time a fighter like Kevin Lee gets cut after a few losses, people point to Alvey with his 0-7-1 record and ask what form of blackmail “Smilin’ Sam” has on UFC brass that keeps him around.

Well, it seems like this latest defeat — a second round RNC loss to Brendan Allen — has pushed Alvey to pull the plug himself … at least for now. In a social media video, Sam insisted he wasn’t done fighting but would take a hiatus to sort himself out.

“I’m fresh off my UFC fight and as I’m sure a lot of you saw, I didn’t get it done … again,” Alvey said. “Um, I’ve lost a step. Something needs to change and I’m going to make the correction.”

“I’m not done fighting. I love this sport. God has blessed me, I raise God’s name on high. I would not have the career I had without Him. And I really have had a good career. I’ve had a long career, I’ve had over … this is my 23rd fight in the UFC, I have had a career that people dream of. I’m not done fighting but I have to take a little bit of a hiatus.”

Alvey pointed people towards his YouTube channel and said he hoped to do something regarding training others.

“I wanna keep pushing,” he said. “I wanna help others win. And I’m gonna win again too. I’m not done.”

It’s not all bad news for Sam Alvey. Despite losing, he’ll still go home with a decent paycheck if only because of the UFC Uniform Policy. As a 23 fight veteran, Alvey made more than any other fighter on the UFC Vegas 47 card, banking an impressive $21,000 even before his show purse is factored in. So that’s one reason to smile, at least.