TUF: Brazil winner Warlley Alves drops to welterweight, eyes late 2014 UFC return

RIO DE JANEIRO — Warlley Alves impressed on The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil 3, and he’s coming down to his original weight class.

The X-Gym talent, who went 4-0 on the reality show before submitting Marcio Alexandre on the middleweight final, will return to 170 pounds for his next UFC bout, and he’s hoping to be back in action later this year.

“We’re negotiating. I signed with MMA Inc. and we’re working on that now,” Alves told MMAFighting.com. “I want to fight until the end of the year. I will be ready to fight from November. I’m getting 100 percent, lowering my weight, so I can fight again by the end of the year.”

Alves (7-0) fought seven bouts in 10 months between 2013 and 2014, so he felt he needed some time off.

“I’m coming off seven straight fights,” he said. “I fought two times at Jungle Fight, which I consider the toughest promotion in Brazil, and then I entered the (Ultimate Fighter) house. I had a tough fight with Wendell Oliveira and fought four more fights on the show and the final. My body was tired, so I decided to take some time off to relax and take care of the injuries.”

“I won’t stop anymore until I get to my goal,” he continued. “Just like everyone in the UFC, I want to be the champion. I’ll have time to relax again in five or six years, I just want to train now [laughs].”

The Brazilian prospect, who turns 24 years old in January, doesn’t want to rush anything in his MMA career. A former training partner of Anderson Silva, who currently spars with the likes of Ronaldo Souza, Paulo Thiago, Alan Patrick and Rafael Cavalcante, Alves moves step by step.

“I set a goal. I want to be at the top 5 in some time, fight with the best, but I’m young and I have a long road ahead,” he said. “I want to take one step at a time, win every fight.”

The UFC has yet to schedule his first welterweight bout inside the Octagon, so he focuses on helping his training partners for their upcoming fights.

“We’re helping Paulo Thiago and ‘Jacare’ on the final stage of their training camps. ‘Jacare’ will fight (Gegard) Mousasi now, and he will be the champion,” he said. “He will fight the winner of (Chris) Weidman vs. (Vitor) Belfort and become the champion. I’m a big fan of this guy. I’ll do everything I can to help him. ‘Jacare’ will win now, and he will bring the UFC title for X-Gym and for Brazil.”

RIO DE JANEIRO — Warlley Alves impressed on The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil 3, and he’s coming down to his original weight class.

The X-Gym talent, who went 4-0 on the reality show before submitting Marcio Alexandre on the middleweight final, will return to 170 pounds for his next UFC bout, and he’s hoping to be back in action later this year.

“We’re negotiating. I signed with MMA Inc. and we’re working on that now,” Alves told MMAFighting.com. “I want to fight until the end of the year. I will be ready to fight from November. I’m getting 100 percent, lowering my weight, so I can fight again by the end of the year.”

Alves (7-0) fought seven bouts in 10 months between 2013 and 2014, so he felt he needed some time off.

“I’m coming off seven straight fights,” he said. “I fought two times at Jungle Fight, which I consider the toughest promotion in Brazil, and then I entered the (Ultimate Fighter) house. I had a tough fight with Wendell Oliveira and fought four more fights on the show and the final. My body was tired, so I decided to take some time off to relax and take care of the injuries.”

“I won’t stop anymore until I get to my goal,” he continued. “Just like everyone in the UFC, I want to be the champion. I’ll have time to relax again in five or six years, I just want to train now [laughs].”

The Brazilian prospect, who turns 24 years old in January, doesn’t want to rush anything in his MMA career. A former training partner of Anderson Silva, who currently spars with the likes of Ronaldo Souza, Paulo Thiago, Alan Patrick and Rafael Cavalcante, Alves moves step by step.

“I set a goal. I want to be at the top 5 in some time, fight with the best, but I’m young and I have a long road ahead,” he said. “I want to take one step at a time, win every fight.”

The UFC has yet to schedule his first welterweight bout inside the Octagon, so he focuses on helping his training partners for their upcoming fights.

“We’re helping Paulo Thiago and ‘Jacare’ on the final stage of their training camps. ‘Jacare’ will fight (Gegard) Mousasi now, and he will be the champion,” he said. “He will fight the winner of (Chris) Weidman vs. (Vitor) Belfort and become the champion. I’m a big fan of this guy. I’ll do everything I can to help him. ‘Jacare’ will win now, and he will bring the UFC title for X-Gym and for Brazil.”