Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) competitor Thiago Alves has seen better days inside the Octagon. The “Pitbull” has lost two bouts in a row and hasn’t earned a win since Jan. 2015. To make matters worse, he missed weight by nearly seven pounds for his bout with Jim Miller.
After his brief stint at lightweight didn’t go as planned, the Brazilian is making a change. Alves recently announced on his Twitter account that he is moving back up to the 170-pound division. Here’s what he said:
I'm bringing this Pitbull back to welterweight in April. Fight news coming soon. #bestyet2come… https://t.co/ur9A76dVcP
— Thiago Pitbull Alves (@ThiagoAlvesATT) January 25, 2017
The former number one welterweight contender now finds himself unranked. It’ll be interesting to see who Alves is matched up with this spring.
From Oct. 2006 through 2008, Alves was on a tear. He was on a seven-fight winning streak that included a devastating TKO over UFC Hall of Famer Matt Hughes and a decision victory over Josh Koscheck. The streak earned him a title opportunity against Georges St. Pierre.
The outcome was disappointing for “Pitbull.” He was easily out-grappled and controlled for all five rounds. Alves couldn’t get anything going on the feet since he was constantly worried about takedowns. The Brazilian lost the bout by unanimous decision. It was his first defeat in over three years.
The American Top Team slugger looked to get revenge on Jon Fitch. Back in June 2006, Fitch stunned Alves with an upkick and finished the fight with ground strikes. The two competed again in August 2010. Fitch controlled the fight for three rounds to nab a unanimous decision win.
Fast forward to 2017 and Alves is faced with a potential three-fight skid. The former contender has never lost three bouts in a row in his professional mixed martial arts (MMA) career. When he competes again, it’ll be over two years since he last achieved victory. Can the 32-fight veteran get back in the win column?
Time will tell.
