Alves Still Packing Some Tricks Up His Sleeve

"I have a lot of respect for Kampmann, but once we close that cage, it’s gonna be all about me and I’m gonna break him." - Thiago Alves Long respected as one of the top welterweights in the game, Thiago Alves had nonetheless got himself into a rut. And at 170 pounds in the UFC, if you’re in a rut, that’s like blood in the water for the sharks that occupy the division.

So almost in the blink of an eye, a seven fight win streak that included wins over Chris Lytle, Karo Parisyan, Matt Hughes, and Josh Koscheck turned into a stretch where the “Pitbull” lost three of four bouts, making his UFC 138 match with unbeaten Papy Abedi last November a must win.

And Alves pulled off the victory, but more impressive than the notch in his win column was the way he won, by using his stellar striking game to set up a rear naked choke submission, the first tap out victory in a career that began in 2001.

“I’m always trying to improve, and that’s the goal in my camp at American Top Team,” said Alves. “We all try to get better and better. Before, a lot of people saw me as one-dimensional, but it was just easier for me to keep the fight standing because that’s where I’m comfortable and where I’m best at. I never really wanted to take the fight to the ground. But I’m very comfortable wherever the fight takes place, and you’re definitely gonna see a very, very dangerous “Pitbull” this time, even more than in the last few times.”

Admitting that he needs to be “open to doing new things,” Alves, still just 28 years old, looked like a new man in the Abedi fight, and he sounds like one leading into his main event bout tonight against Martin Kampmann. What a difference a big win makes, and having that victory propel you into a main event can do even more wonders for your psyche.

“If you said you don’t like it, you’re probably lying,” laughed Alves when asked about being in the UFC on FX main event. “It’s always good to be recognized for your work, and it’s a great opportunity for both of us to headline this show. I’m very excited, I prepared myself very well for this fight, and I’m gonna put on a great performance for the fans and for the UFC.”

Alves has apparently put his weight issues behind him as well, as he clocked in at 170.5 for his bout, a half-pound under the allotted limit. It’s actually gotten to the point where entire articles don’t have to focus on what he weighs, and more on what he’s planning to do on fight night, not a small thing when the last few years have seen the Brazilian besieged by queries about his weight.

“When you work with (diet and conditioning guru) Mike Dolce, you’re gonna be on weight and you’re gonna come prepared to fight the next day,” he said. “I knew it wasn’t gonna be overnight; it was gonna take a few fights to prove to everyone that I’m doing this serious now and that nobody’s gonna stop me. So it feels great, and the weight is never gonna be an issue again.”

What will be an issue is the man standing across from him in the Octagon tonight, fellow contender Martin Kampmann. Running an almost parallel course as Alves over the years, it’s surprising that the two have never met before, but this compelling showdown has finally arrived, and it’s not one that’s coming as a shock to the “Pitbull.”

“I’ve definitely been watching Kampmann for a while,” said Alves. “I love his style, I love the way that he fights, I think it’s the perfect matchup for both of us, and I think the best fighter and the most prepared fighter is gonna win, and that’s me.”

Kampmann feels the same way, only with the final result being him with his hand raised. Yet what makes this fight interesting isn’t each man’s high confidence level, but the different tools that each brings to the table. Alves is an aggressive Muay Thai striker with knockout power and the desire to lead. As for Kampmann, “He’s very dangerous everywhere,” said Alves. “He’s a great striker, he’s got Greco and wrestling skills, and also great submission skills, so he’s very dangerous, but I’m very prepared for wherever the fight takes place. I have a lot of respect for Kampmann, but once we close that cage, it’s gonna be all about me and I’m gonna break him.”

Alves may be counting on the possibility that Kampmann, who came up on the short end of two controversial decisions against Diego Sanchez and Jake Shields, gets a little overaggressive in an attempt to finish and leaves himself open for an Alves punch, kick, or knee.

“Whenever you come to fight, you know you’re gonna take risks, and I’m always gonna fight and always gonna push forward, so I’m definitely gonna put myself in a position to finish him,” he admits. “But when you do that, you’ve got to be very careful to not overcommit and not open yourself to get finished. But that’s what we train for and that’s what the fight game is all about, so if he slips, I’m gonna catch him.”

Maybe without a strike but with one of his new submissions? Maybe a flying armbar?

“I don’t think so,” laughs Alves. “Maybe a flying triangle, but not a flying armbar.”

View the original article here

Amilcar Alves Breaks The Ice

"Training, training and more training, plus a different attitude, are the best medicines to cure any misinterpretation that fans and insiders had of me."  For the fighter nicknamed 'The Terminator', the plan was simple in his Octagon debut against powerful Mike Pierce last August in Massachusetts - make the American wrestler pay every time he shot in for a takedown.

The planner, Amilcar Alves - who returns to the Octagon on January 22 against Charlie Brenneman in a welterweight bout on the Fight For The Troops 2 card - had it all worked out in his brain regarding what his opponent would do and how he would react to it. If he did what he was supposed to, it would be enough to simply terminate Pierce. He even prepared to deliver a flying knee when a gap appeared, adjusting the timing and capitalizing on the moment the way Pablo Garza did against Fredson Paixao in the TUF 12 Finale.     
But the whole plan, the strategy and the pace of the fight didn't go like the Brazilian wanted it to.   
It was evident from the moment of the welterweights’ stare down at the weigh-ins that confidence and Alves were not partners, as he looked down while Pierce touched the Rio de Janeiro native’s forehead with his own. That was the first signal something was not okay for the Judo black belt.
"Friends and teammates asked me why I didn't look inside Pierce's eyes at that moment, and I barely remember that," Alves said. "At that instant I was more worried about recuperating from my weight loss than going eye-to-eye with someone, especially since the person in front of me wasn't my wife (laughs)."
The Alves everybody knew, the one who arrived in the UFC with an eight fight winning streak, is exactly the one you hear above, one who can keep his sense of humor while explaining the situation. However the smile on his face disappears when the issue is the lack of action during the 13:11 that the welterweight duel lasted.
"People say that the adrenaline of the first time in the UFC can harm your stamina and can break you in half, but what happened to me was that I froze, and it became worse round after round," Alves said. "What I had in mind happened and Pierce acted like a robot against me in the first round, shooting for a takedown, stalling the fight and being unable to cause damage. He scored points with the throws and Octagon control, but I was fine with the first five minutes."   

Well, “fine” isn't the right word to be placed in the same sentence as Alves' performance or lack of it during his promotional debut. Landing strikes that you can count on one hand in the initial stanza, he started to yield to Pierce's game that night, ending up with a laceration under the right eye and a defeat by straight armbar at 3:11 of round number three. For a man who waited four years to get into UFC, Alves waited forever to show his effectiveness, without displaying what put him there - his ability to knock people out and his skills to submit foes from the bottom or from the top. 
"I don't know if it's explainable," he says of his Octagon debut. "Pierce did what I expected, but I didn't react. You can see I was still light on my feet in third round, so gas wasn't a problem, but I was petrified. I said to myself, 'This guy can take me down and I can restore my guard easily; let's see if I can open a hole in his head with my elbows in second round.' But ask me if I did it? No, once I landed one elbow and the referee warned me, 'watch the back of the head’, and it sounded like, 'Amilcar, you can't elbow him.' So I didn't get to use them."
Alves heard a lot of badmouthing regarding his professional career after the UFC 118 bout, a "special one" he wants to use as an extra motivator for his fight against Brenneman. And despite people saying he doesn't belong in the UFC, he’s not worried about shutting the critics up - he's just ready to show that he's for real. 

"Training, training and more training, plus a different attitude, are the best medicines to cure any misinterpretation that fans and insiders had of me. I can't say I had a bad preparation leading up to Pierce and I switched my solid training over to Brenneman. My workouts were superb for the first fight like they are for my second fight in the UFC. I’ve just controlled my nerves to face a tough opponent like Brenneman."  
Eager to show a different “Terminator” against Brenneman, Alves expects to avoid the tilt of his machine last August. Asking the Brazilian what kind of problems Brenneman can present with his style, the Nova Uniao representative says that the key to glory isn't preparing for what his adversary is supposed to do; the question is what Alves will do.
"Comparing Brenneman to Pierce, we expect an exciting fight because he won't avoid the trading of bombs on the feet," Alves said. "He can try to take me down, like Pierce did, but this time I'll have an answer. Anyway, I was much too hesitant to set up things I couldn't catch in my last fight, so against Brenneman, he has to be worried about an angry and aggressive fighter that is going to fight him differently than what he was able to see last time. The word is action, not reluctant reaction anymore." 

View the original article here

Story Calls Out Thiago Alves

Rick Story (left) | Dave Mandel/Sherdog.com

After outpointing Johny Hendricks on Dec. 4 for his fifth straight win in the UFC, Rick Story knows whom he wants to fight next.

“I want to fight Thiago [Alves],” Story said recently during a “Savage Dog Show” interview on the Sherdog Radio Network.

Alves, ranked No. 3 in the world, would be a significant step up in competition. That’s one reason why Story wants a piece of “The Pitbull.”

“I know that somebody like Thiago Alves, beating him, it would make people realize, ‘This guy is for real,’” Story said. “I just want everybody to know that I am for real and I’m not going to stop until I get that number one spot.”

The 26-year-old Story had a strong year in 2010. He went 4-0, including a stoppage of Dustin Hazelett. Against Hendricks he outwrestled a former NCAA champion and showed a more advanced MMA game.

Meanwhile Alves appears to have rebounded from weight issues and a loss to Jon Fitch earlier in the year. On Dec. 11 the former title challenger looked impressive en route to a unanimous decision over John Howard. Although Alves might be back on track, Story likes the matchup.

“For one, he’s a standup striker. And two, he’s great at takedown defense, but he’s not that great at staying away from wrestlers when he’s down on the ground,” Story explained. “When he’s in good shape, he’s a little bit better at getting away. Against [Jon] Fitch, Fitch took him down at will and controlled him on the ground. I just think that it would be great. It would be a great fight and it’d be fun to stand and trade with him.”

Listen to the full interview (beginning at 1:22:13) with Story, who also discussed how he overcame a 1-2 start in MMA.

View the original article here

Report: Alves to Return in May; Story Likely Foe

Thiago Alves: Dave Mandel | Sherdog.com

Welterweight contender Thiago Alves will reportedly return to the Octagon in May against up-and-comer Rick Story.

Alves announced news of his return via Twitter on Friday.

“Just found out I’ll be back inside of the cage in May! Great news to finish the year!” Alves wrote.

Though the American Top Team product followed with a tweet relaying that he did not know the identity of his upcoming opponent, MMAWeekly.com reports that Alves and Story will square off on May 28. Story called the Brazilian out on a recent episode of the Sherdog Radio Network’s “Savage Dog Show.”

Though the hosting venue for the UFC’s May 28 date is not yet set, the event is likely to take place in Las Vegas. Neither the bout nor the event has been officially announced by the promotion.

Alves comes off one of the most impressive performances of his career, a three-round dissection of John Howard at UFC 124 in Montreal. For 15 minutes, Alves dictated the pace of the bout and landed surgically precise strikes both high and low. Alves’ leg kicks were particularly devastating, hurting Howard early and preventing him from mounting desperate offense late in the bout. Widely regarded as one of the best strikers in the sport, the “Pitbull” holds 11 of his 18 career victories by knockout.

Story is riding a five-fight win streak heading into his confrontation with the former title challenger. The 26-year-old “Horror” most recently edged out Johny Hendricks in a close unanimous decision at “The Ultimate Fighter 12 Finale” on Dec. 4. Story has not lost in the UFC since being defeated by John Hathaway in his Octagon debut in June 2009. He holds notable victories over Jake Ellenberger, Dustin Hazelett and Nick Osipczak.

View the original article here

Alves: World's Happiest Welterweight

"I’m just concentrating on winning the fight, and whatever it takes – standup or on the ground – I think I’m better than him everywhere and I’m just gonna go out there and get business done.” Long after his boxing career was over, I had the opportunity to speak to former world champion Jesse James Leija, and I asked him what it was like to miss weight for one of the biggest fights of his career – a 2003 title bout against Kostya Tszyu. He didn’t hesitate in his response, likening it to seeing both your parents shot in front of you.

UFC welterweight contender Thiago Alves won’t go that far, but it’s close.

“It’s very frustrating,” he said. “You put in all the work, and you expect the results, but they’re not there.”

In two high-profile fights, at UFC 85 against Matt Hughes, and at UFC 117 against Jon Fitch, Alves came in above the 170-pound limit, drawing scorn from fight fans and irritation from opponents and UFC brass. After the August loss to Fitch, UFC President Dana White even insisted that Alves would be moved to the 185-pound weight class.

But as Saturday night approaches at Montreal’s Bell Centre, Alves will be back in the Octagon and fighting as a welterweight against John “Doomsday” Howard. And he can thank former Ultimate Fighter cast member and current nutritionist Mike Dolce for that.

“He’s changed my whole life, my whole attitude, and my whole mood when it comes to getting ready and getting prepared for a fight,” beamed Alves. “I’m actually having fun again. At this time before, I was miserable and stressed and just wanted to get through with the day. Now I’m enjoying every second of the day and having fun. I feel healthy and I’m eating a lot, and that’s even better.”

You can hear the recharged energy in Alves’ voice, and despite knowing that he will field dozens of questions about his weight cut in the days leading up to Saturday’s bout, he’s taking it all in stride, knowing that once he makes weight, he can get back to the business of being the welterweight contender who won seven in a row (five by knockout) from 2006 to 2008, and not the lethargic one-dimensional striker that dropped back-to-back decisions against Fitch and welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre. Now we will get to see Alves elevate his game, since he’s focusing on the fight ahead and not the scale.

“Before, my biggest fear was making weight,” he said. “I couldn’t rest, and five weeks before a fight I would be thinking about it and it was a constant stress in the back of my head – you gotta make weight, you gotta make weight. And I didn’t know anything else; for me that was normal to be worried about the weight and stuff like that. Today, I know that it’s not, and I look at the past and wonder how I was so naïve. But you have to make a few mistakes to get to the right place so thank God I teamed up with Mike and now life is good.”

Especially since Alves believes that a move to the middleweight division would have sapped him of some of the things that have led him to the top of the 170-pound weight class.

“I feel that’s where I’m at my best,” he said. “170 is perfect for me. I’ve fought all the top guys there, strength wise I feel stronger than all of them, and if I moved up to 185 I’m gonna give up a lot of the advantages that I have, and in this game, you don’t want to give up everything, you want to just take. So 170 is perfect for me, especially right now. Maybe 155, you never know.”

He laughs, and yes folks, he’s kidding about the 155 part. But it is clear that a new day has dawned for the 27-year old, whose career was in jeopardy back in March when he was forced to pull out of the original date of the Fitch rematch due to an irregularity on his CT scan stemming from a pre-existing condition. A subsequent surgery separated an artery from a vein in his brain and soon after he was given a clean bill of health and allowed back into the gym and into competition. Then came the Fitch disaster, but now things are back to normal in the world of Alves.

Things couldn’t possibly get better, could they? Well, he is facing a non-wrestler for the first time since he stopped Karo Parisyan in April of 2008. That’s Hughes, Josh Koscheck, St-Pierre, and Fitch in consecutive bouts. It’s almost enough to make a guy run out and buy a singlet, but now Alves gets fellow Muay Thai practitioner Howard, someone who has gone on record saying that he hopes the ‘Pitbull’ will stand with him.

“John Howard’s a pretty tough guy,” said Alves. “He lost his last fight (against Jake Ellenberger) so I’m pretty sure he wants to get back on a winning streak just like me. He’s a striker and he likes to go out there and throw punches, and let’s see if he really likes that and wants to do that with me. Most guys say they’re strikers but once they get hit in the face they try for the takedown. But we’ll see how it goes. I’m just concentrating on winning the fight, and whatever it takes – standup or on the ground – I think I’m better than him everywhere and I’m just gonna go out there and get business done.”

And after going the route to the tune of 11 combined rounds in his last three fights, Alves would like nothing more than to end this bout before the final bell sounds.

“That would be really nice,” he said. “But at this level, I learned my lesson a few fights ago that once you chase the knockout, it’s really, really hard for you to get it. And when you just fight and think about scoring and hurting your opponent, that’s when I get most of my knockouts. I’m not gonna chase the knockout, I’m just gonna go out there and try to hurt him every single moment of the fight and bring the pain.”

That’s the old “Pitbull” talking, and after a tumultuous 11 months in 2010, he’s ready to end things on a high note in month number 12.

“It’s not how you start, it’s how you finish, and now I have the opportunity to finish the year just the way I want it,” said Alves. “So what happened in the beginning of the year is in the past right now, and December 11th I get a chance to redeem myself and do what I was born to do, and I’m gonna make it happen. I’m not gonna waste it this time.”

Free Prelims on UFC.com/Live
For the first time ever, two preliminary bouts will be aired live and free online at http://www.ufc.com/live. The Dustin Hazelett vs Mark Bocek and Dan Miller vs Joe Doerksen fights will be available to everyone worldwide at no charge starting at 9pm ET/ 6pm PT/ 2am GMT. 

View the original article here

No Secrets in Howard’s Gameplan for Alves

“To Thiago, I have love and respect for you, but business is business. Just bring your A game and let's have some fun and fight. Let's make this a ‘Fight of the Night.’" The rule is “no one wants to stand and trade with Thiago Alves”.

It is a good rule. “The Pitbull” is famously the most feared striker in the UFC welterweight division and for good reason. The 27-year old Brazilian bruiser has scored seven of his nine UFC victories by KO or TKO, most in highlight reel fashion like the flying knee that appeared to nearly obliterate former UFC welterweight champion Matt Hughes. Even in Alves’ lone fight for the title, the champ, Georges St-Pierre, kept the fight against Alves as much a grappling match as possible, knowing the safest road to a successful title defense was grounding “The Pitbull”.

But there is an exception to every rule. Meet John “Doomsday” Howard.

“I’m really excited about fighting a stand-up fighter like Thiago,” states Howard and, in all scary sincerity, he means it. “I'm really excited. I'm treating this fight like I'm going into a striking match. Just as I used to get ready for a boxing match, this is what I'm setting up for.” On December 11th, at UFC 124 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, it seems like the UFC brass will get exactly what they wished for: a 170 pound stand-up war.

“It's no secret - I'm not trying to take him down,” he says, and like music to UFC fans’ ears everywhere, Howard has zero expectations that either fighter wants this fight on the ground. “I have pretty decent wrestling, but that is definitely not my game plan. What Thiago has is a Muay Thai based game and I have Muay Thai based training, so we both want this fight standing.”

The 27 year old Bostonian trains in his hometown at the Wai Kru gym. Although they do train in all areas, the name “Wai Kru” signifies the ceremony Muay Thai fighters perform before a fight, which clearly denotes a certain expertise in one martial art.

John Howard will be entering the Octagon for the sixth time in less than two years, where he has quietly amassed an impressive 4 - 1 record against a set of scrappy grappling-based opponents. “Doomsday” has spent the majority of his time in the UFC cage defending takedowns, submissions and trying to get back to his feet to steal a moment or two for him to uncork his punching power. In those flashes, Howard put back-to-back wins together by knockout against Daniel Roberts and Dennis Hallman.

“I have real confidence in the power in my hands to end a fight at anytime,” Howard says and has also proven. That power earned him his last second victory KO over Hallman. Howard was only moments away from losing a decision to the veteran when the fight was restarted on the feet. “Doomsday” let loose with his dangerous hands and caught Hallman with a fight ending left hook at 4:55 in the third round. “I know anybody standing with me in my weight class, my hands hit just as hard if not harder. I know if I connect they're going out or at least severely stunned.”

John Howard is looking for the knockout, Thiago Alves is looking for the knockout, and that is exactly what Howard is hoping for, “Someone standing in front of me and exchanging is what I'm all about.” Howard explains that matching strength in the center of the Octagon is his comfort zone. “I consider myself a power fighter and I train with other power hitters, so this is a perfect fight for me. This is what I'm used to, this is where I come from as a fighter.”

But Howard knows that Alves and he won’t be a life-size game of “Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots”, this will be a duel between two well-trained strikers. “The problem in fighting another elite striker like Thiago is, he is good at moving his head,” Howard continues about his strategy for attacking Alves’ face. “I have to time the punches more and I can't just power up and punch him. I have to use combinations instead of just sitting back and powering up, so it makes it a little more difficult.”

As much as his physical tools will play a role in this fight, Howard believes it is what he brings mentally that will be the deciding factor. “I have a similar knowledge of the Muay Thai game,” Howard emphasizes that his background and training will be able to negate Alves’ revered Muay Thai. “When Thiago tries to Thai clinch with me, I have the same knowledge of that Thai clinch. That's an advantage I have going against Thiago. Other fighters don't understand it - the method and the philosophy behind it - the way I do.”

One specific aspect of Thiago Alves’ vaunted striking style that scares other opponents, actually may be John Howard’s key to victory: leg kicks. “My advantage to his style is that I know how to check kicks,” Howard believes Alves has excellent kicks, but their effectiveness in past fights have been in-part his opposition’s fault. “A lot of guys in the UFC don't know how to check kicks necessarily right, especially against someone like Thiago kicking them.”

Also, “Doomsday” won’t be simply checking the kicks, he’ll be countering, “I feel I have an advantage that I know how to check Thiago's kicks and can counter with my hands.” In theory, Howard and Alves’ Muay Thai styles will cancel each other out, but it will be Howard’s boxing origins that will carry him to victory. “His Muay Thai is really good and I don't think it has any weaknesses, it is just my hands are a lot faster than his from my background in boxing. I think Thiago is well-rounded and very accurate with what he does, but I think my boxing is a key factor in this fight.”

On December 11th at UFC 124, John Howard is ready and willing to put on a Muay Thai clinic for the fans with the welterweight division’s most famed practitioner, Thiago “Pitbull” Alves. John Howard takes a moment to personally implore Thiago for this to happen:

“To Thiago, I have love and respect for you, but business is business. Just bring your A game and let's have some fun and fight. Let's make this a ‘Fight of the Night’. Let's show the UFC fans what real Muay Thai is all about. They don't always get to see it, but I want us to show the fans what real strikers are supposed to look like. It's a perfect fight for us to express our skills.”

John Howard also says, “Here comes the Doom,” which means he wants to knock you out.  

View the original article here