June, 7th. 2008 at UFC 85 in Bedlam, England Thiago Alves proved he is no joke in the welterweight division when he put the dumbfounded look on Matt Hugh's face as he decisively kneed and punched his face till 1min and 2 sec into round 2 for the win by technical knockout. Matt Hughes is known as the greatest welterweight of all time so for Thiago that must have felt great. I spoke with Thiago and was able to get his thoughts before and after the fight.
Before the fight Thiago said it was, "A lot of pressure, I mean not a lot of pressure but, I knew I had to win the fight. The last two weeks I sprained my ankle training and it was kind of really bad. I couldn't make weight and everything. I was really, really nervous but I don't know I think I really sucked it up and everything worked out good."
After the fight Thiago was," In heaven! Just hard work paying off. I was really, really happy man and don't know, I can't describe."
Thiago was four pounds over for the fight. Matt agreed to fight with a reduction to Thiago's purse. Once in 2006 Thiago was fined and suspended for taking a drug to reduce water weight. Rumor has swirled that he may possibly move up in weight class. That's not the case. Here is what he said about the subject, "The end of 2006 I got caught with diuretics and I got suspended for 8 months. But not for this fight though, I really sprained my ankle. I was going to turn down the fight and I called my manager and everything and we called the UFC management." He was told, "Maybe I have to take cortisone shots so I could train. The cortisone shot makes you hold water too. I couldn't walk for 3 days because of the ankle. I always make weight though."
Alves tells me he plans to remain a welterweight and he also says, "The UFC has been good to me. I'm not planning on going no where." He trains in Florida at American Top Team. You can visit their webpage: http://www.americantopteam.com/. American Top Team is a highly respected gym. Thiago expressed gratitude for being with them, "ATT is the best camp in the world. We got the best coaches. We got the best training partners in the world. I go to work, yeah I go to work, and it's like a family. All my family is from Brazil and I find a new family here in side of the gym. I couldn't be in a better place."
What can we expect in the future from Thiago "The Pitbull" Alves? "A lot of knockouts. I'm going to get the belt. I'm going to knock everybody out." To his fans Thiago had to say, "I want to appreciate all the support and all that. Everybody who trusts me and knows that I'm going to get out there. God bless you guys keep pulling for me because it's just the beginning."
by Penny Buffington of MMA-Underground.com
Please visit : http://www.cagewarriorsusa.com/
Here are the audio clips from Penny Buffington's Interview with Thiago:
1 comment:
I Love your interviews Penny...Thank-you!
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