The lion’s share of Dustin Poirier’s success in his rematch against Conor McGregor has been attributed to UFC veteran and American Top Team struggle coach Thiago Alves. He was the first to admit that Conor McGregor was not himself after a UFC 257 event.
“The kicks got collected, for sure … I knew when I saw Thiago Alves in his corner (Dustin Poirier),” said Conor McGregor.
Thiago Alves has had a depressive fighting style since the beginning of his career, and it is evident from the fact that five of the eight awards he won in the UFC were due to kicks or knees. A household name for UFC fans from the time of Zuffa and Spike TV, Thiago Alves had been an opponent to Georges St-Pierre’s welterweight throne. A major stallion of the UFC welterweight division for over 14 years, Thiago Alves battled 27 times in the UFC before moving to the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship in January 2020.
Born and raised in Brazil in the city of Forteleza, Thiago Alves has been in the competitive field of MMA since the age of 15 and made his UFC debut on the second UFC Fight Night card in October 2005, at the age of 22. On his way up through the welterweight rankings, Thiago Alves burst into tears and defeated Karo Parisyan, Josh Koscheck and former champion Matt Hughes, who was a major champion in UFC history at the time. .
That is 4 surgeries in a year. You can give me the Pitbull bionic! Now the recovery begins! http://t.co/h3TIOHKSHy
– Thiago “Pitbull” Alves 🇧🇷🇺🇸 (@ThiagoAlvesATT) July 11, 2013
After an unsuccessful stop at lightweight, Alves returned to his natural weight class, but after a loss against Tim Means, Thiago Alves was released from the UFC in January 2020. In an interview with MMA Fighting after released, Alves said he wanted to be remembered as the best knockout artist in UFC welterweight division history.
“I’ve done everything for this sport. The only thing I didn’t do was win the world title, but I was fighting the best welterweight ever, Georges St-Pierre. A 19-year-old child who left Fortaleza for Miami with 50 dollars in his pocket … I want people to remember me as someone who worked hard and believed in his dream. I did everything the way I was. I’ve done a lot of things, but I’ve learned from my mistakes and kept moving forward without blaming anyone but me. I have no complaints, ”said Alves.
Thiago Alves went on to fight for the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship and won his first fight against Julin Lane through a split decision. It is expected to return on March 12, 2021.
Published January 29, 2021, 06:00 IST