Former UFC welterweight top contender Thiago Alves is quickly making his way down the road of recovery after having undergone an abrupt surgery in late March.
After doctor’s discovered a brain irregularity during a UFC 111 pre-fight screening, he was immediately pulled from his mulligan with Jon Fitch just 50 hours before showtime.
After a few weeks of R&R, Alves returned to training and his rematch with Fitch was rescheduled for UFC 115. However, it was not before fellow American Top Teamer Ben Saunders subbed-in on less than three days notice, only to be handed a lopsided unanimous decision loss for his troubles.
“I have nearly nine weeks to prepare for my next fight. Once I’m back in training, I will spend three weeks working my technical game, and then get in some hard training,” Alves told FightersOnly. “I saw what Fitch’s plan was [at UFC 111]. I am ready for him. I was happy I saw his fight with Ben Saunders.”
Although the talented Brazilian was pulled from the March 27th event, he paid close attention to another scrap inside the Prudential Center that night – the main event between welterweight king Georges St-Pierre and Dan Hardy.
“I also saw GSP’s game – he’s just about takedowns now,” Alves stated. “He has great timing, but he’s not taking any chances. I don’t blame him for that. When I meet him again, I’ll have a much better strategy.”
St-Pierre handed Alves a convincing unanimous decision loss in their showdown at UFC 100. Although he started his career with a reputation for being a lethal striker, GSP has since morphed into MMA’s most lethal ground guru en route to becoming the planet’s baddest welterweight.
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