This weekend's UFC Vegas 104 event represented a big moment for Sayif Saud and his Fortis MMA team.
The preliminary portion of Saturday's card at the Apex included an under-the-radar storyline, as Saud shot for his 100th victory as a coach since opening the Fortis MMA team back in 2017.
Tasked with bringing that result home was strawweight fighter Sam Hughes, who shared the Octagon with Stephanie Luciano.
After a closely contested three rounds, Hughes fell on the right side of a split decision, sparking celebrations in the Fortis MMA corner.
The milestone didn't come without an element of controversy, however.
Many questioned the decision, believing Luciano did enough to deserve the nod from the judges at UFC Vegas 104. On MMA Decisions, just three out of nine media members scored the fight in favor of Hughes. The fan scorecards, meanwhile, saw less than 30 percent backing "Sampage."
Interestingly, Saud recently pondered retiring from coaching while looking ahead to his goal of achieving 100 UFC wins early in 2025.
I always said that 100 UFC wins and I was going to be done,” Saud told MMA Junkie in December. “One hundred UFC wins, win a title – I would like to win a title back and get it one more time for (Moreno) – but 100 wins and this will be 20 years. Next year will be 20 years. 2005 is when I started. I moved to Albuquerque in 2006, then came to Dallas in 2009, and now in 2025, it will be 20 years in MMA. And it’s been great, man. It’s been an incredible run, but it’s definitely coming towards the end.
I look forward to being home and kind of spending time with my kids. I don’t really realize how nice it is to be home and just be around my family, be around my kids and be around them and see them and hug them and kiss them. Just be around them more as they’re getting older. I’m getting into a different period in my life. I’m 44 and getting to the next generation of guys, we’re going to hopefully put that 100 up on the board.
In addition to the recently victorious Hughes, Fortis MMA also houses the likes of former UFC flyweight champion Brandon Moreno, Geoff Neal, Macy Chiasson, and Ryan Spann, among others.