Everything can change in the blink of an eye. It’s a tired cliche, but for Thiago Alves Saturday night at UFC Fight Night 67, it was the brutal truth.
After he probably won a competitive—if relatively uneventful—first round against Carlos Condit, Alves caught a sharp elbow on the nose early in round two. Despite the ensuing blood and punishment, Alves hung tough, but the cageside doctor stopped the fight between the second and third rounds.
“I felt that I could have kept fighting at least for another round, but congratulations to Condit; he did a really good job,” Alves told broadcaster Jon Anik through a translator in the cage after the fight. “The doctor stopped the fight, so I have to respect that.”
Alves has always been a respectful competitor and an entertaining fighter to watch. After missing more than two years of action with injuries, Alves has fought three times in the past 14 months, winning twice before losing to Condit. There are interesting possible opponents for the American Top Team welterweight moving forward. Here are four of those possibilities.