UFC welterweight Thiago Alves has been on the shelf with an injury for a while now, and it doesn't look like he'll be returning to the cage until 2013. When he does though, it looks like he'd be interested in fighting a guy he was originally scheduled to face at UFC 149 - Siyar Bahadurzada. Alves spoke to Tatame about when his return, and about putting Siyar in his place:
At this point, especially after UFC 151 was cancelled, I fight anyone. I was hoping to fight later this year, but since UFC cancelled an edition I guess I'll only fight in January now. If it works out, in Brazil. It would be great to shut (Siyar) up, but I fight whoever Joe Silva (UFC matchmaker) pair me up with. I have to fight someone.
He doesn't seem to think much of Bahadurzada's resume:
He's nothing compared to the level of competition I'm used to. I'm fighting in the UFC for almost seven years and I had never had an easy fight. He's very cocky and I love fighting people who talk too much. It motivates me and brings out my best.
He also shared his thoughts on Siyar's UFC debut, a 42-second knockout of former opponent Paulo Thiago:
I guess... No, I know he got pretty lucky against Paulo Thiago. If they fought again it would be totally different. I guess Paulo Thiago lost a lotta weight for that fight and couldn't rehydrate correctly, só when he got punched in the heat, Thiago went down. And when your brain is dehydrated, any punch that is landed in your head can turn you off.
Alves (19-9) will be looking to rebound from a loss to Martin Kampmann when he returns. Is Bahadurzada the best choice of opponent for Alves fight now? Maybe, maybe not. We'll see if the UFC actually books the bout or not.