UFC 85 Preview: Thiago Alves

by Nick Thomas on Jun 3, 2008 4:51 PM EDT

Losing is not an option. It's my time.

-- American Top Team welterweight Thiago Alves and his training camp discuss their thoughts on how the fight against Matt Hughes will unfold.

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Alves

...is incredibly underrated.

by Luke Thomas on Jun 3, 2008 5:31 PM EDT reply actions

I’m not sure how Alves is underrated, let alone severely underrated.

He’s about where he should be. His big win is against Karo, which was a very good win. He won against Lytle when the fight, which was extremely competitive, was stopped for a cut. He got destroyed by Fitch, which is a bad sign when guys like Hughes (and several others ahead of him at WW) have that same style.

Alves has his shot to move into the WW Top 5 with a win against Hughes, but it won’t be easy. People are underestimating Hughes because of his losses to GSP. GSP makes almost everyone look very bad. Just because Hughes got bet up by GSP doesn’t mean Hughes is washed up.

by Hardcharger on Jun 3, 2008 5:49 PM EDT up reply actions

This is rich

Fitch and Hughes have the same style? That’s news to the MMA world.

That they are both accomplished and competitive wrestlers by no means implies their style is the same. Fitch doesn’t rely very much on top game, is significantly more comfortable on the feet where he uses range better with a wider arsenal of strikes, and unlike Fitch, Hughes is also about establishing much tighter hip control when dealing in close or on the ground.

by Luke Thomas on Jun 3, 2008 5:58 PM EDT up reply actions

He was getting schooled by Lytle before the cut. I would have jumped in on your side before that fight. I really like Alves. I tend to like anyone named Thiago. I think he can beat Hughes, but I don’t think he will. He needs to knock him out. I just don’t think you can count on that in a high level WW fight.

by szucconi on Jun 3, 2008 6:21 PM EDT up reply actions