Merely two years, Thiago Alves was considered one of the top 10 best pound-for-pound fighters in the world.
Now, the former welterweight contender could be on the chopping block at UFC 138 when he rolls out the welcome mat for newcomer Papy Abedi.
After losing to Jon Fitch in June 2006, Alves went on a reign of terror in the welterweight division that lasted two years and earned him a shot at UFC champion Georges St-Pierre.
Heading into the epic UFC 100 showdown, many believed Alves would be St-Pierre’s biggest test. He was riding a seven-fight win streak, which included victories over world-class opposition in Matt Hughes, Josh Koscheck and Karo Parisyan.
All of the momentum in the world didn’t matter for Alves, who was outclassed by St-Pierre in every aspect en route to a lopsided unanimous decision loss.
Since that fight, Alves has suffered multiple injuries, struggled to make weight and endured a steep decline in fight performance.
To put it bluntly, Alves, who is 1-3 in his last four fights, just doesn’t seem like the same fighter anymore.
At only 28 years of age, Alves has plenty of time to turn things around. He is still one of the best strikers in the entire welterweight division. If he can clean up his takedown defense, he would be a nightmare for any 170-pounder.
As well as cleaning up his defense, it would be nice to see Alves add dimensions to his game. People tend to forget that he’s a brown belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
While Alves is by no means Demian Maia on the ground, it would be a nice change-up to see him implement takedowns and groundwork to round off his skills.
Can Thiago Alves become an elite welterweight again?
He most certainly can, but the road back has to begin against Abedi. If not, “The Pitbull” could be barking his swan song at UFC 138.
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