Weight Class: Flyweight
Record: 10-2
Age: 27
Height: 5’7”
Born In: USA
Training Out Of: Avila Combat Laboratories
Combined Opponent Records (at the time they fought): 64-39
Key Wins: Jake Scott
Following a 5-0 start to his time with Anthony Pettis FC, Miguel Sanson gets his first main event opportunity this Sunday when he headlines APFC: Milwaukee Fight Night 11 against Mefi Monterroso.
Sanson went 4-0 during a brief amateur career that saw him finish every opponent he faced before turning pro in September of 2021. An initial 4-0 run with LFA was halted when he dropped back-to-back decisions to Mark Climcao and An Tuan Ho, but he returned to the win column at LFA 185 before moving on to APFC.
All but one of Sanson’s seven LFA fights went the distance, but since joining APFC the 27-year-old has only seen the judges’ scorecards once. He submitted the formerly-undefeated Jake Scott in the first round last November before dispatching Hector Iglesias in just 48 seconds in March, which extended his current streak of victories to six fights.
Sanson very much prefers to be the one dictating the pace of the fight, and he’ll often come straight out off the opening bell to take the center of the cage and start trying to force his opponent towards the fence. “The People’s Champ” uses a solid jab and likes to keep his opposition guessing with feints. He’s also comfortable throwing several different types of kicks and really steps in when he wants to land one to the outside of an opponent’s lead leg.
The 27-year-old relies heavily on his right hand as a power shot and will either follow his jab with a right straight or simply load up with a big overhand. He’s also shown a willingness to switch stances off of his kicks, and in his most recent outing he was able to set up the eventual finishing sequence by rocking Iglesias with some big left hands.
Sanson ideally wants to get his opponent committed to a striking battle so that he can time his takedowns in open space or back them to the fence and try to bring things to the mat from there. He prefers to go for big double leg takedowns when available but is also happy to switch to single leg attempts when needed, and if an opponent turns away from him he’ll quickly try to get his hooks in or establish a body triangle.
“The People’s Champ” has also shown off some really good developments in his ground and pound during his run with APFC, as he’s more than happy to posture up and land big shots or keep an opponent covered by using short punches to the head and body if he’s comfortable with just keeping top position.
Facing Ho and Climaco in back-to-back outings was a pretty brutal two-fight run for Sanson, but he still gave a solid account of himself in both fights and has obviously rebounded very well since then. I would like to see him matched up with another fighter that’s able to challenge him on the mat at this stage, as it was Climaco’s wrestling and Ho’s scrambling ability (and striking activity during those sequences) that largely allowed them to both secure decisions in those fights.
Sanson admittedly hasn’t been facing especially stiff competition in APFC, but that submission over Scott stands out as the most impressive win of his career. This weekend’s bantamweight matchup with Monterroso should be a bit of a showcase fight for him, and he’ll presumably return to flyweight his next time out and would almost certainly feature as one half of a vacant flyweight title bout if APFC wants to put that together.
