Issue 127
April 2015
Thiago Alves has come back from five surgeries to compete in the Octagon with one thing on his mind – fight for the UFC championship once again. Only this time he’s determined to take the title home
To say it’s been a rough couple of years for Thiago Alves would be a huge understatement. Surgery after surgery curtailed the promising career of the former welterweight title challenger. He was out of action for so long fans nearly forgot all about one of the most dangerous strikers ever to compete at 170lb.
To make matters worse, while he was laid up – either in the hospital or rehabbing his latest injury – all he could do was watch while his fellow American Top Team welterweights achieved success after success.
Tyron Woodley and Hector Lombard built impressive win streaks to climb into the top five in the UFC rankings. While Ben Saunders was also back in the big show with a couple of stellar performances.
Yet no man has achieved more at 170lb in Alves’ absence than ‘Ruthless’ Robbie Lawler. He capped a remarkable career renaissance by capturing the world title in December. Thanks to him, the UFC championship belt now resides at American Top Team in Coconut Creek, Florida.
Teammates’ successes in his weight class could have threatened the sanity of lesser men, but ‘Pitbull’ is always positive. It’s testament to the Brazilian’s glass-half-full mind-set that he reveled in the success of his training partners. He didn’t let their triumphs threaten his own ambitions – even if it did come at the worst possible time for him professionally.
“I was very happy for Robbie,” the 31-year-old tells FO. “I don’t think anyone deserves to be the champion more than Robbie Lawler. He’s had two very busy years and now he’s at the top of the sport. He came to put on a show. That’s the reward you get for putting in work the way that he did.
“I was very happy for American Top Team as they got their first UFC belt. There’s no negativity when it comes to my teammates fighting. I am always 100% behind them because those are my brothers.
“We understand at one point we might have to face each other for the belt, but we’ll worry about that when it comes. For now, I’m just rooting for all my teammates. I’m ATT all the way.”
Lawler, Woodley and even Lombard, despite a recent drug test failure, were all key players in the explosion of excitement that is the UFC’s 170lb weight class. It categorically captured more attention than any other division in 2014.
With former dominant champion Georges St Pierre stepping away from the Octagon, opportunities came thick and fast for the rest of the division. And its main protagonists and prodigies rose to the occasion. Alves admits it was tough to watch the weight class take on a whole new look while he was stuck on the sidelines.
“It was pretty overwhelming, especially since we have the best welterweight in the gym. It was very humbling seeing my teammates compete and watching them put on a show. I was unable to do what I do best, which is compete and fight,” says the knockout artist, who left home in northern Brazil with just a handful of dollars aged 19 in pursuit of MMA glory.
“They were kind of using what I have. They were using all my coaches and facilities, so it was very humbling in the beginning – getting a grip of the situation. However, the situation was what it was and I could do nothing to change it but get healthy and when it’s my time to perform, give everything I have. That’s what I was focused on.”
Alves was the first ATT fighter to challenge for the UFC 170lb crown after he rose to the top of the class with a seven-fight win streak. That was capped by an incredible 2008 run in which he took the scalps of Karo Parisyan, Josh Koscheck and Matt Hughes when they were around the peaks of their powers. The young Muay Thai wrecking machine was thrust into the pound-for-pound conversation, but he was handed a masterclass in MMA wrestling by GSP at UFC 100 in July 2009. His career has been more stop than start ever since.
Before the turn of the year, Alves had only managed to put together a patchy 3-3 UFC record in the five and a half years following the GSP fight. A brutal backdrop of rehab following stints on the operating table hamstrung his career. From life-saving brain surgery to lower back and multiple knee operations, Alves has faced much darker times outside the Octagon than he ever has inside of it.
“When I got hurt for the fourth time, I was in a little bit of a bad spot because four back-to-back surgeries is just a little bit overwhelming,” he says. “However, I always knew it was just a matter of time. I knew I wasn’t in an ideal situation at that moment, but my time was going to come as long as I’m prepared. I wasn’t prepared the last time I had my shot, but this time I’ll be 200% prepared.
“Everything happens for a reason. Did I ever doubt myself for a second? Every day. Every day I would have a little negative talk that would run by my head very quickly. But then I would replace those thoughts with positive ones of exactly what I want.”
After so many nights of soul searching during rehab, Alves says he probably knows his body better than any other athlete plying a trade in MMA today. Now he’s finally 100% again, he’s determined to make the most of it.
“I’ve been forced to understand the mechanics of it simply to survive,” he says. “But I also have a great team behind me in American Top Team. I work with the best guys in the business, including Mike Dolce, so that’s a big advantage for me. I’m trying to push myself and be better than I was yesterday. No more joking around. It’s game time.”
He adds: “You know my story. There have been a lot of ups and downs. Since 2009 I haven’t been on a winning streak so it feels good to be back to my old self. I mean, I’m a new and improved version of my old self... I’d say I’m, ‘Thiago Alves 2015: Angry and Vintage’.”
Angry and especially vintage was the perfect way to describe Alves in the second round of his comeback fight, against Jordan Mein at UFC 183 on January 31st. He recovered from a slow opening round to turn up the heat and drop the young prospect with a kick to the ribs to register his first TKO since 2008.
“It felt great. You know, it’s been a very long and humbling road but I think I’ve learned from all of my mistakes,” he says. “I’m finally in a good place where I can use all these things that I’ve been learning in practice and I can go all the way to the top now.
“It was very satisfying to get the finish, especially because it was a technique we’d drilled over and over. I knew he was going to back up with his hands down and switch stance as he was backing up. I tried to get the legs a little bit in the beginning, but I couldn’t get my range and I couldn’t go for his head because of the reach advantage.
“In the second round, I was going to take out the body, slow him down and then eventually finish him. It definitely wasn’t going to go the distance – I already had that in my mind. I was ready for a war in the second round, but then I landed the kick. It’s just a sign of what’s to come. That was just the warm-up.
“This was my first fight this year and I think I’ve got five or six years to really prove myself and give everything I have. I’m dedicated 100% to become the next welterweight champion. That’s my mission, that’s my goal and I don’t get anything but what I want. I won’t take anything but my share.”
As for who’s next, Alves thinks he’s spoilt for choice by the quality on offer from the UFC’s crop of top 15 welterweights. He was due to face Matt Brown during his injury-ravaged run in August 2013, and that’s one fight fans would cross oceans to see.
But Alves believes that fight is one or two wins away. Just as long as his career is moving forwards he’s happy to face anybody the UFC throws at him. Now he’s fit again, he just wants to stay busy.
“A fight with Matt Brown would be great,” he says. “He’s ranked up there. He’s one of the guys. All the fans would love to see us tangle up, but he’s got a fight coming up with Johny Hendricks, so I don’t think he’s thinking about me right now.
“I definitely want to go up the ladder so whoever is going to bring me closer to that belt; that’s who I want. I think I’ve proven myself in this weight class over and over for 10 years now and I’m in a good spot right now to make another run. I’m moving forwards, not moving backwards.
“We’re shooting for at least three fights this year. We got the first one in really early because I was able to fight in January. Hopefully, I’ll get to fight in either May or June, have another one in September then one more in December.”
Thiago Alves is fit, healthy and ready for war... Over to you Joe Silva.
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