May-31-2008
“Just Another Fight” for Rising Star Alves
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By Armando Alvarez
COCONUT CREEK, FL - For a young fighter, the first time fighting in a main event can be nerve wrecking. It usually means you have made the big-time, and instead of having a few thousand people focused on your fight, you have millions. Now imagine adding a little more pressure in the form of fighting a legend in the sport. A lot of men would have their anti-anxiety medication nearby in case a panic attack sets in before fight night, but Thiago Alves says for him it’ll be “just another fight”.
The 24 year-old Alves (20-4) will be taking on UFC legend Matt Hughes on June 7th in the main event of UFC 85: Bedlam at the O2 Arena in London, England. In Hughes, he’s taking on a fighter whose name is known by every single mixed martial arts fan in the world, and who held the UFC welterweight title on two occasions. Alves is focused on the task at hand, and says legend or no legend, Hughes is just another obstacle on his way to the ultimate prize: the welterweight championship.
“Fighting Matt Hughes is a big thing, but I just see him as another opponent,” Alves said. “I know it’s the biggest fight in my career and I’m fighting in the main event, but it’s just my hard work paying off. I’m not going to pretend this is the biggest thing in my career because it’s not. That’ll be when I win the belt.”
Even though Alves knows the 34 year-old Hughes (43-6) has been a two-time champion and has beaten the likes of current champion Georges St-Pierre, lightweight champion BJ Penn, Frank Trigg, Royce Gracie, Sean Sherk and Carlos Newton, among others, the fighter nicknamed “Pitbull” is extremely confident of a win on June 7th.
“No disrespect to Matt Hughes, but he hasn’t been a champion in a long time, and the sport keeps changing,” Alves said. “You have better athletes now who are stronger and more complete fighters. Hughes was stronger a long time ago, when people didn’t train properly. I’m not saying he’s not strong, but I’ve been in there with a lot of strong fighters and I’m in great shape and have the best conditioning in the sport. I’ll be fine. He’s gonna try to come and take me down and I’m gonna have a little surprise for him.”
Alves credits his sureness of victory to his hard work inside the gym. The public sees what a fighter does inside the Octagon for the UFC, but rarely do the fans get a peek into gyms across the world where fighters sweat, cry and bleed all in preparation for the battle ahead. Fighters like Thiago Alves know that the hardest part of the battle sometimes is between the four walls of their training facility and not when facing their adversary.
“It’s a 24/7 job and you don’t stop,” Alves said. “When you’re not in the gym you have to watch what you eat, drink a lot of water, ice your body, and rest your body because everything is hurting. The training is Monday through Saturday and it takes a lot from you. I fight three to four times a year, but the training is year round. Thank God I’m young and I can take it. It’s isn’t easy, but it pays off. The hardest part is the training; the fighting is the easy part.”
That hard work earned Alves the biggest win of his career on April 2nd when he knocked out Karo Parisyan in the second round of their fight. Parisyan had won three fights in a row before running into Alves.
“That win felt great,” Alves said. “That’s what I’ve been training hard for, wins like that. I had done things wrong in the past and lost two fights in the UFC that I shouldn’t have lost. I know what I did wrong and what’s right now. Before, I was immature and the whole UFC environment was a little overwhelming. When you’re not used to it it’s pressure, but I’m comfortable, I’m experienced and I know now what it takes to get to the top.”
Those tough days at the gym can be rewarding when the outcome turns out in your favor, but there are some days that fighters want to be anywhere else but the gym. One thing that helps Alves get through those rough days is the support from two fellow natives of Fortaleza, Brazil who also fight in the UFC and train with him at the American Top Team gym in Coconut Creek, Florida: Marcus Aurelio and Wilson Gouveia. In fact Aurelio was Alves’ and Gouveia’s jiu-jitsu instructor in Fortaleza. Now they’re teammates and have been labeled “The Fortaleza Connection”.
“These guys are my family,” Alves said. “Wilson is the funniest guy ever, and every time we train they don’t let me, Marcus and Wilson sit together because they think we distract the other fighters. It’s perfect though. We help each other out, and everyone at the gym supports one another and works to get ATT [American Top Team] to the top.”
Alves now only awaits fight night. The long hours at the gym are over for now, and the next man he’ll be exchanging fists with and grappling with is Matt Hughes. If Alves defeats Hughes, as he so confidently says he will, there won’t be much separating him from getting a shot at welterweight champion St-Pierre.
St-Pierre is widely regarded as one of the best MMA fighters in the world regardless of division, a statement Alves agrees with, but he says he can’t wait till the day he meets “Rush” in the octagon and gets the opportunity he’s been working so hard for.
“I think it’s meant to be,” Alves said. “My goal is to be the one, to be the champion. I know I’m gonna get it. I’m gonna bring the title to Miami, the 305. I’m gonna ask for my title shot to be at the American Airlines Arena in Miami. St-Pierre is the man. I love him, and I can’t wait to fight him.”
But first comes the difficult task of beating a man who’s only lost six times in 49 professional mixed martial arts fights, but as you’ve read throughout, Alves assures us and reassures us that he will come out on top.
“I’m gonna knock him out. My hand will be raised in victory,”
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