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Will Thiago Alves Make Weight?
POSTED: August 19, 2008 - 3:08 pm
CATEGORIES: MMA
Michael David Smith over at MMA FanHouse asked UFC welterweight contender Thiago Alves what his current weight was and Alves responded that he’s walking around at 200lbs.
“Right now I’m about 200,” Alves said. “That’s 30 pounds over my weight division, but it won’t be a problem for me to make weight.”
UFC President Dana White gave Alves a smirk when I asked the question, as if to say, “You knew this was coming up.” Alves said that the only reason he failed to make weight at UFC 85 was that he sprained his ankle 10 days before the fight and wasn’t able to do the cardio routine he usually does in the days leading up to the weigh-in.
Stupid ankles. Prior to his last bout, a dominating victory over Matt Hughes at UFC 85, Alves weighed in at 174lbs. and that fact led some to believe the weight advantage was the reason he won the match.
Alves next fights at UFC 90 in October against Diego Sanchez and everyone will be keeping a close eye on the weigh-ins. Especially considering a win would put Alves at the top of the welterweight contenders list but he’s not getting a title shot until he proves to the UFC that he can make the weight consistently. Outside of pulling out of a main event the day before, the UFC’s most hair-pulling situations involve people not making title fight weights.
COMMENTS (5): Submit A Comment
1. D.G.
August 19, 2008 - 6:27 pm
Alves dwarfed Hughes in their fight. He looked not only larger, but substantially larger. I'd be weighing him on two different scales at the weigh-in's. Just to be sure there's no monkey business going on.
2. MMAholic
August 19, 2008 - 7:48 pm
Any respect I had for Alves was lost with that last fight. Just like 'Big John' McCarthy has said "making weight is part of a fighter's job", if he knew he wasn't going to make weight he could have called however many days before the fight and could have agreed to a catchweight that both fighters would weigh in at. I seen it time and time again where a fighter doesn't make weight but where the opponent has prepared himself and is going to take the fight anyway. Something must be done to prevent fighters from pulling this crap.
3. D.G.
August 20, 2008 - 1:23 am
Think about it. He's says he's walking around at 200 pounds. At 5'8', you have to wonder what the hell is Alves eating, and how much. No wonder he can't make weight for a fight. Fighters have issues dropping 15 pounds for a fight. Let alone 30. For fuck's sakes. I'm 5'8', and my walking around weight is around 150-155 tops. And I'm 34 years old.
4. Evz
August 20, 2008 - 8:19 am
Weight alone wasn't why Huhghes lost - Alves is younger, faster, hungrier etc than Hughes and also less reliant on wrestling n g'n'p to get him through every match - GSP took Hughes apart and it was no shock to me that Alves did as well. People put far too much into weight especially in that fight - did Tim Sylvia outweigh Fedor - yes - did Tim win - no - the difference in weight there was far greater than Hughes v Alves. Granted Hughes making weight and the cutting etc you could argue may have left him in a less fit state than Alves but he has been doing it that long I doubt it had much if any impact.
5. Freddy
August 20, 2008 - 2:17 pm
I agree, Alves is just a more talented fighter than Hughes and unlike a lot of Hughes' opponents, Alves was able to neutralize his upper body strength by countering it with his own during the grappling portion of the fight. Hughes has won a lot his fights because of sheer strength which helped him take his opponents down and control them until that created openings for submissions or gnp. Hughes is nowhere near as talented as GSP, as we've all seen, but make no mistake about it, GSP is as strong or stronger than Hughes so this was the catalyst that opened the door for GSP to work his magic. BJ Penn on the other hand, which I feel *might* be even more talented than GSP doesn't have the size and strength...
