Thiago is back to work and focused on getting back to the top.
Written by Matt Welch
Preparing for the biggest fight of your career, let alone one against one of the world’s top fighters, requires a near-seamless training camp with little room for error in preparations.
It’s a reality that was learned the hard way for UFC welterweight contender Thiago Alves, who is just under two months removed from a 25-minute thumping at the hands of UFC welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre at UFC 100.
“It wasn’t my night obviously,” Alves said. “I couldn’t let go of my game and everything. I felt tight. I wasn’t myself.”
Alves was a recent guest on Sans The Gloves and talked about the aftermath of the first title bout in his 12-fight UFC career.
While Alves worked his way towards his title shot by utilizing his tenacious, aggressive striking and is considered one of the welterweight division’s top Muay-Thai practitioners, he admits that he was without a vital cog in his training camp for the St. Pierre bout.
“I didn’t train with my Thai coach that I did in my last seven fights,” he said. “…He got deported and everything, so he couldn’t come back. He’s from Belgium. I didn’t prepare myself with him with him for this fight, the most important fight of my career.”
Despite St. Pierre scoring a clean 50-45 sweep on all three judges’ scorecards, the 170-pound kingpin offered words of advice to the gritty Alves shortly after the bout’s conclusion.
Speaking from the experience of an early loss to then-welterweight champion Matt Hughes in his own UFC career, St. Pierre said Alves would be able to use the loss as an opportunity to come back stronger than ever, and no doubt the contender has taken those words to heart.
“I saw the best fighter in the world on one of his best nights,” Alves said. “I know I can do better than that … No excuses, [St. Pierre] was better than me, but I know I can do better than what I did that night. I’m training harder and trying to fix the holes in my game.”
Despite Alves’ vaunted striking pedigree, the Brazilian found himself unable to muster any kind of rhythm during the standup exchanges with St. Pierre, and the frustration was evident.
“Every time I would step in, he would step out, so that frustrated me,” Alves said. “Every time I tried to do something, he would just move away. He had a great gameplan. I was fighting his fight.”
Still, Alves said the loss was a learning experience that he will to build off of as he prepares to return to competition.
“I learned a lot,” he said. “I know fighting at this level is all about strategy and everything, but it just proved my point even more … I didn’t get my belt. I didn’t get the thing that I wanted most, but I gained so much overall.”
As he waits for the opportunity to get back on track, Alves was in attendance at UFC 102 this past weekend, cornering jiu-jitsu coach and American Top Team compatriot Marcus Aurelio in preliminary tilt against Evan Dunham.
Aurelio is a long-time friend of Alves and while the companionship between the two has been beneficial for the progression of each other’s careers, Thiago said that bond is common amongst all fighters who train at A.T.T.
“I think it’s the family atmosphere inside of the gym and everything,” he said. “Everybody’s working together towards one goal and trying to get better and help your friend out.
For Alves, that goal now becomes the steady climb towards redemption.
While not officially announced, rumors are swirling that Alves could next see action at UFC 107 in December, where the A.T.T. product would potentially meet fellow Brazilian Paulo Thiago, and Alves doesn’t envy the next man to square off opposite him inside the octagon.
“I doesn’t matter who my next opponent,” he said. “I just feel bad for him, because some fighters have to pay the bill. It’s a long bill, and I’m going to take it out on my next opponent.”
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Damn, Thiago is a beast. I know Paulo Thiago is a tough-as dude and all, but I think whoever fights Alves next is in for a beating. He’s going to come back strong, and hungrier than before, they don’t call him the pitbull for nothing.
Although I am a GSP man, I see that Thiago Alves is a very dangerous opponant and a BIG time playa in the Welterweight Division. Along with Jon Fitch, i see him as an eventual re-match with the man GSP. Every dog has his day and in the most stacked division in the UFC…everyone is suseptable to be being “Chin-Checked”…who will be the 1 to step up and seriously challenge Georges???
In total agreement that Alves is a dangerous man, and this kid will have his day. He sounds like he’s taken GSP’s words to heart, and tried to use this loss as a movitvator. All he can do is climb the welterweight ladder once again, and do as much damage as he can on his way back up…
Yes mu shin…IMO, this is another thing that seperates Georges from the other fighters…he always has TRUE praise and advice from his own dealings for fallen foes. Damage he will do…love to see him re-match Fitch too!!!
alves is an animal,expected better from him in the gsp fight but it can only help him mature.he needs a win for confidence in his next match because he knows after the gsp fight there are things missing from his game.
Thiago will run through everyone again and once again get beat by gsp
I don’t know if Alves wins a rematch with Fitch. If he gets by Paulo Thiago, it looks like that fight is inevitable though, to see who gets another shot at GSP. If Thiago has worked his takedown defense and guard, he should do decently against Fitch. However, Fitch is a beast on the ground, and it’s been shown against GSP that he can take a hell of a beating. Either way, I don’t see either of them doing much better in a rematch against GSP, hell GSP might even finish them the second time around.
GSP has 170 on a lockdown no one is going to beat him for awhile.
Word Rage, everybody talks about how stacked the welterweight division is in the UFC, but it’s really a lot of tough dudes, a handfull of serious contenders: Fitch, Alves, and Koscheck if he gets back to his winning ways, and Paulo Thiago, and on topp of everybody is GSP. There’s a lot of great fighters at 170, but it isn’t stacked in the sense that middleweight and light-heavyweight, in terms of how there are many legit contenders. I can’t think of a welterweight in the world at the moment who can really give GSP serious problems. He ran over Fitch and Alves, and those guys have beaten everybody else between the two of them. Swick and Kampmann just haven’t fought them, that’s the only reason they get the next shot, they’re the only guys who haven’t lost to GSP, Alves, or Fitch.