Thiago Alves: What would you do?

by steveoc24 on Nov 2, 2008 3:34 AM EDT Comment 21 comments

He's obviously on a roll and by unanimous decision and definitely gets a title shot. You can't argue against that.

Seven straight wins in the octagon, five by TKO/KO. His last three opponents all top 5 WW's.

Alves said he will be meeting with Dana White & Co at UFC 91 to talk about his future.

Joe Silva decided to book a fight between GSP/Penn before thinking ahead about other contenders livelihood. The reason I've heard is because both fighters have cleared out their divisions, which is not true! Both fighters still have a couple fights left in their division with well respected/deserved contenders that they haven't fought yet before they can move up like they are some Anderson Silva.

So Alves is getting the next shot at the winner of GSP/Penn. What if Penn wins?! So Alves fights Penn? I doubt that, especially if Florian wins against Stevenson at 91 and he is obviously the #1 LW contender. Penn will have to make his next fight at LW to defend his belt against a very well deserved contender. What do you do if your Alves? If GSP wins, Alves could be looking for a 6-8 month layoff. If Penn wins, it could be longer.

We all know, win or lose, there is a huge payday fighting for a title. Alves taking a fight or two to keep himself busy could land him some tough opponents like Fitch or Sanchez maybe even GSP if he loses to Penn, which is a huge risk.

So do you risk a paycheck or two OR a huge payday depending on GSP/Penn?

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GSP, at the time, had beaten every single challenger their was in the WW.
Of the top ten right now, he has beaten 3,4,7,9,10 and 5,8 arent in the UFC. Only people that are any good in the division that he hasn’t beaten are Alves and Sanchez. And Alves is a new development.

Penn, on the other hand, has only beaten stevenson and sherk. But that division is a mess and at the time the gsp/penn fight was made, there was no clear #1 contender IMO.

So the fight makes sense IMO. but it would have made more sence in early january/late december.

But anyway, if I was Alves, i would pick my next fight carefully. If offered fitch I would turn it down. That is too high risk of a fight to take. If offered diego again I would take it. Diego isn’t the wrestler Koch is IMO and he is way to small for Alves. waiting 6-8 months is too long… dude gotta eat!

by dbcb on Nov 2, 2008 9:29 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

They should have made the GSP/Penn fight a non title fight. The fact that its a title fight now adds too many what if scenarios if Penn were to win. Luckily for the Welter division i don’t think Penn has enough to beat GSP in the fight. Of the 2, GSP has looked far more dominating in his last few fights against far better competition than BJ has faced IMO.

by lbk on Nov 2, 2008 10:37 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

If GSP wins, does he get Penns belt as well? Than let’s say Alves beats GSP, does he get both belts?

It’s so silly to have these interweight title matches… I really hope the UFC reconsiders this. If they want the mega-matches, at least make them non-title.

by mythbuster on Nov 2, 2008 10:55 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Yeah, I don’t like it. i would assume since this match would be a 170 lb match, then BJ doesn’t have to put his belt on the line. BJ hasn’t faught everyone at 155 yet. it would be akin to Roy Jones jr moving up after one fight at 155 to challenge the next division back when he dominated. I still think there are guys at 155 that could give BJ a fight.

by lbk on Nov 2, 2008 12:06 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Definitely not for the 155lb title also.
1) The fight isn’t at 155.
2) GSP doesn’t and likely can’t fight there.

by Simco on Nov 2, 2008 7:43 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Thiago Alves, just like Kenny Florian (if he wins) is just going to have to wait to get their title shot. Thiago could fight Diego Sanchez, but that is a trap fight, and Thiago has proven he is the next “threat” to GSP. IF GSP loses, then let Diego vs. Thiago for the interim welterweight championship untill BJ can come back.

by "Mr. NC-17" on Nov 2, 2008 12:23 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

I still think it should be…

Alves vs Diego while GSP vs Penn, maybe even on the undercard.

Then, Penn vs Florian for LW title and GSP (win or lose vs BJ) vs Alves if he beats Diego.

If BJ beats GSP, he then fights the winner of the Alves vs GSP for the title.

No matter what happens, I think BJ needs to decide on either LW or WW at some point. If he wins, let him hold the belts for a couple of fights (assuming he wins them), then have him vacate one or the other.

http://eliotmarshall.com/

by BJJDenver on Nov 2, 2008 3:00 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

I disagree. Alves has done MUCH mor than Diego in the past year or so to deserve a shot. Diego is beneath him as a potential fight at this point IMO. If anything, it should be Koscheck vs Diego for the right to face the winner of Alves/GSP whenever that should go down.

A fight with Diego at this point is worthless for Alves’ career.

by lbk on Nov 2, 2008 5:53 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

i agree

I never understood it when Dana said the winner of Alves/Diego would get a title shot. For Alves, yes of course. But Diego still needs a couple more wins over top opponents. After his back to back loses, he has a win over a UFC virgin and win over Fioravanti.

by steveoc24 on Nov 2, 2008 7:07 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

100% agreed

But.. lets say BJ Penn defeats GSP and decides he wants to go down to LW, that could mean over a year layoff of action for Thiago if he does not fight. I think if that happens, a Diego vs. Alves for an interim welterweight belt should happen, because I think that would be strongly unfair for Thiago’s next match not to be a title match. If BJ wins, he screws up two divisions. Either he fights Kenny Florian (if he wins) or he fights Alves. If GSP wins, then we know for a fact it would be BJ Penn vs. Kenny Florian (once again. if he wins) and GSP vs. Thiago Alves. If KenFlo were to lose, then we could see BJ vs. Thiago while that lightweight division gets a strong opponent. It’s going to be crazy for both divisions if BJ holds two belts.

by "Mr. NC-17" on Nov 2, 2008 7:14 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Has it been declared that BJ is in fact retaining the 155lb title were he to win?

by Simco on Nov 2, 2008 7:48 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

If Penn wins and goes back to defend at LW, I definitely agree that Alves next fight should be for the interim belt. That guy has beaten a bunch of contenders in a row and done it decisively. He needs to fight for a belt. We need to wait and see what happens with GSP v Penn though. If GSP pulls off the victory then there’s no question Alves just sit and wait for the shot. There’s no reason for him to take another fight. He’s earned the right to fight for a championship which is every fighter’s ultimate goal.

by dropkick101 on Nov 2, 2008 9:21 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I don;t think there is a need for an interim belt.

let BJ (if he wins) hold them both for a couple of fights and market the Hell out of the fact he is a 2 weight champ. then have him vacate one and move on.

http://eliotmarshall.com/

by BJJDenver on Nov 3, 2008 11:09 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

The problem is, that Alves needs to fight. He cant sit and wait for the shot to come around. i agree he is next in line, but you don’t want him to suffer a “Werdum”. Diego is an attractive match and extremely winnable for Thiago. nowhere did I say if Diego wins he should get a shot and I don;t think he should at this point.

And as for the interim, you can’t do that. it just makes a mess for no reason. the simple solution, is if you are going to hold both belts, you must defend them in a timely fashion. Thus, my idea for BJ winning the WW, drop and beat Florian, then vacate the LW belt and go back to fight Alves at WW. Of course making huge assumptions on the wins, but it is just to make the point.

So far, I see no reason why Alves shouldn;t fight Diego in the meantime, even if GSP keeps the belt.

http://eliotmarshall.com/

by BJJDenver on Nov 2, 2008 8:54 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Alves could fight fitch and it is not a step down. Fitch is a top contender and would be a great fight for Alves. He could take a Diego fight, dominate and raise anticipation even more for a shot at GSP. Even if Penn wins, GSP is still an excellent fight for Alves and one people would want to see. Any of these fights are good for his pocket and career. If he doesn’t get a title shot right away, I would love to see him fight Fitch. That would be a good one.

by fightfan942 on Nov 3, 2008 2:41 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

He already lost to fitch and you would be putting him in a tough position that may cost you a contender if he loses. I don’t want him to have it easy, but it would be bad business to have him fight Fitch, imo.

http://eliotmarshall.com/

by BJJDenver on Nov 3, 2008 11:10 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I think a guy like Alves would really test BJ Penn. From what I saw against Kos, Alves showed some pretty good takedown defense. Granted, Kos was looking to stand for the most part, but when he did go for a takedown Alves muscled him away. So, I think with a guy like Penn, Alves would def pose a size problem as well as a power problem with his leg kicks and strikes. FWIW, I think Penn will have a similar problem with GSP as well.

by lbk on Nov 3, 2008 9:32 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

The problem with having Alves fight first is that, right now, he is on an incredible hot streak that would help produce great numbers for a fight with either GSP or Penn. Having him take another fight despite the fact that he has already proved himself more than worthy for a title shot is risking a loss. While Diego is both marketable and talented, at this point he has done little to warrant a title shot as of late. A win over Alves would greatly help to change that but it still wouldn’t give him the same steam that Alves himself is currently enjoying.

Basically what I’m saying is that there is no reason for this guy to fight again. He has won 7 fights in a row in the UFC and the past three have been against top 5 opponents. He has fought four times in the past 12 months. No one is going to criticize this guy for sitting out. He has more than earned a title shot and there is simply no need to further prove himself.

Also, I find it highly doubtful that the UFC would allow Penn to defend both belts should he emerge victorious. If he beats GSP he will stay at welterweight. If the winner of the GSP/Penn fight emerges without some type of medical suspension then Alves could get his shot as early as late March or early April. Bring him in the ring after that fight to keep his name out there and we’re all good.

by dropkick101 on Nov 3, 2008 11:06 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

I just think that is to long without a fight.

I do believe they would let BJ hold both belts for a SHORT while, because it is a great marketing tool.

http://eliotmarshall.com/

by BJJDenver on Nov 3, 2008 11:12 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I really wanted to see Thiago fight Diego, I thought it would have been a tougher fight because Diego is very crafty on the ground and his striking is really good. When Diego fought Jon Fitch – that fight was really close – Jon Fitch was defending for the majority of that fight.

Thiago has to fight again before his fight for the title – he needs to stay fresh.

Jon Fitch or Diego Sanchez would be great fights until he fights for the title. Either one of those fights would add hype to the title shot.

"My job is a decision-making job, and as a result, I make a lot of decisions." --George W. Bush, The Decider, Lancaster, Pa., Oct. 3, 2007

by lovingmma25 on Nov 3, 2008 11:30 AM EST reply actions 0 recs