UFC Slugger Thiago Alves Moving Down To Lightweight
It looks like “Pitbull” will have a change of scenery.
Ariel Helwani dished out some news in the July 29, 2015 edition of UFC Tonight. The renowned mixed martial arts (MMA) journalist revealed that Thiago Alves’ manager Malki Kawa told him that the Brazilian bruiser will make the move to the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s (UFC) lightweight division.
The news may come as a surprise to many given “Pitbull’s” past weight cutting issues. It became such a problem that Alves promised that he wouldn’t miss weight again. Since getting Mike Dolce in his corner, the soon-to-be former welterweight has been cutting weight more efficiently.
At 31-years-old, the former 170-pound title challenger has found himself with a record of 21-10. “”Pitbull” has faced some of the best welterweights in the world such as Georges St-Pierre, Matt Hughes, Jon Fitch, and Carlos Condit. Now, he will have to make a smooth transition to face some of the best 155-pounders on the planet such as Donald Cerrone, Anthony Pettis, Rafael dos Anjos, and Khabib Nurmagomedov.
Things haven’t gone quite as smooth for Alves inside the Octagon lately. While his recent efforts are nothing to sneeze at, they aren’t near the level of the tear he went on from late 2006 to his first and only title bout at UFC 100. Heading into his 2009 clash with “Rush,” Alves was riding a seven-fight win streak. John Alessio, Chris Lytle, Hughes, and Josh Koscheck were four of the “Pitbull’s” victims.
Fast forward to 2015 and things don’t look as glamorous. Alves has gone 3-3 in his last six bouts. His three wins were over Papy Abedi, Seth Baczynski, and Jordan Mein. All wins are respectable, but “Pitbull” wasn’t exactly cruising along murderer’s row.
Alves’ lightweight run is being targeted for a December date. It’ll be interesting to see if he is placed on the UFC 194 card should he be ready by then.
