Nov
04
2009
0

Thiago Alves: I’m on a mission to become a World Champion

Get more pictures like this from SHERDOG.COMBy Bryan Levick (BryanLevick@mmaratings.net)

At the ripe old age of 26, UFC welterweight Thiago Alves has already been through more in his eight years in mixed martial arts than most fighters go through in their whole careers. [Editor’s note: Thiago Alves was MMA Ratings’ 2008 Fighter of the Year.]

From being suspended for using a diuretic to make weight against Tony DeSouza in 2006 to failing to make weight against Matt Hughes at UFC 85 in 2008, all of those trials and tribulations helped Alves become the fighter he is today, the fighter the UFC tapped to fight welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre at UFC 100, the granddaddy of all MMA events.

It certainly wasn’t an easy road taken by Alves to reach the pinnacle of his sport and although he came up short he learned a valuable lesson the night of July 11, 2009. That lesson was simple, you can have all the physical tools in the world but if you are not there mentally, especially against a fighter of GSP’s caliber, you are certain to lose.

After 11 long months of scheduling interviews and rescheduling interviews with Alves, I was finally able to reign in the man that many people including GSP see as the future of the UFC’s welterweight division. Here is what he had to say:

Bryan Levick: First off, you recently were forced to pull out of your much anticipated rematch with Jon Fitch, what was the exact nature of your injury and when can we expect to see you back in the octagon?

Thiago Alves: I tore my PCL, I had a knee injury before my fight with GSP in which I tore my MCL and now 6 weeks before my fight with Fitch I tore my PCL. My doctor advised me not to fight and although I still wanted to fight my manager told me not to because I am not 100%, they felt it was not a good idea to go up against a fighter like Jon Fitch at anything less than full strength. I am going to take this time off to heal and get better, hopefully I will be back by January 31st. It’s not as bad as it could have been but it’s not worth the risk of doing any further damage. You have no idea how bad I wanted this fight! When I come back I am going to better than ever, the next time I step inside the octagon I am going to make a huge impression. Everything happens for a reason and I have no complaints.

BL: Let’s talk about UFC 100. I read a great article about you in Fight Magazine before the fight took place. I recall you talking about when you were younger you felt it was your destiny to become a champion. What was it like when you got the call and were offered a shot at GSP and the UFC welterweight title on such a historic card?

TA: I was really happy, this is my dream coming true. I was getting an opportunity to get my belt on the biggest MMA show in MMA history. I was really excited and at the same time I was really confident. I knew with all the right training combined with all the skills and all the tools I have acquired throughout my years in the sport, I knew I could beat anybody. Unfortunately I had a lot of issues going into the fight with my training camp and my coaches. I wasn’t at my best, I was in really good shape physically but mentally I wasn’t where I needed to be, my strategy going into the fight was not where it needed to be. I was dealing with a lot of pressure and a lot of bullsh*t but that doesn’t mean anything, GSP was better than me that night, it wasn’t my night and I need to get better. I learned a lot from that fight, I realized to be the best everything has to be right, everything around you has to be the best. Your training partners have to be in tune with you, you have to be in a good place in your life. I saw what the best guy in the world has at his best day and I know I can do better. That’s what drives me, it showed me that I need to work harder. It was a good experience, it wasn’t good that I got my butt kicked but it showed me that I need to work harder to get to where I want to be.

BL: What is GSP like outside of the octagon?

TA: We are so much alike. We both come from backgrounds where we had to work for everything we had. He is such a nice guy, very down to earth, he knows what’s going on around him at all times. He told me that he had been in my position before when he lost to Matt Hughes. He told me that I was going to be champion one day. He told me that he was really scared to fight me, he was really respectful and told me that I would be back and become champion. I have so much respect for the type of fighter that GSP is, he is such a great competitor, such a nice guy, so respectful. It made me look up to him but I don’t want to be like him, I want to be better than him. It makes me work even harder because I have to beat him.

BL: A lot of people I know that aren’t big fans of MMA have remarked about the respect that is shown between opponents before and after a fight. How does that make you feel as a competitor that more people are starting to notice how special this sport truly is?

TA: That’s martial arts, it’s all about respect. Once you step into the cage it’s about showing you belong and showing all your skills but besides that it’s a job and people have a common misconception that we aren’t athletes, they see us as entertainers. We are the hardest working athletes in the world, no one trains as hard as we do. There isn’t another athlete out there who is as prepared as a mixed martial artist. Being a MMA fighter is so complex, you have so many tools you have to work on. Not only do you have to be prepared mentally but you have to train jiu-jitsu and all the other martial arts at the same time. Once they close those cage doors the animal instinct takes over but after the fight is over we are just regular people trying to make a living and provide for our families.

BL: How did you get involved with American Top Team?

TA: They recruited me, I was fighting in Brazil. I started fighting when I was really young. I was 14 when I started fighing as an amateur and by 15 I was fighting professionally in Muay Thai. I was fighting bare knuckles in MMA, I got invited to ATT by Marcus Aurelio who was born in the same town in Brazil that I was. He had heard good things about me and it was at that time that ATT was picking up fighters from all over the world. I got lucky, I moved here when I was 19. ATT is amazing there are so many good fighters training at the same time, the good thing is that someone always has a fight coming up so you will always find guys who are in top shape. There is no easy training, you always have to prove yourself.

BL: Kimbo Slice recently began training with ATT. What is your impression of him and have you done any training with him yourself?

TA: I have done some wrestling and jiu-jitsu with him and he’s getting there. He’s learning, a lot of people talk sh*t about him but I have so much respect for him. Most people have no idea what it takes to be successful in this sport. It’s especially tough for him coming from the streets and getting the exposure that he has gotten, he has handled it really well. He is not cocky at all and he doesn’t try to pretend to be something he is not. He said from day one that he was here to learn and here to get better, he is just trying to make a living. I respect that and I respect him a lot. You have to talk to him for 5 minutes because he is a character. He has been doing well and training hard, hopefully he will show what he has learned in his next fight. He has gotten much better since his fight on The Ultimate Fighter against Roy Nelson.

BL: What is your normal everyday weight?

TA: I walk around at 200 pounds.

BL: What kind of weight-cutting regiment do you have?

TA: Usually when I start my camp about 10 weeks before the fight, I get my diet straight from Champion Nutrition who is one of my sponsors and I get together with my strength and conditioning coach. First thing we do is to lower my carbohydrate intake. Once I cut the carbs from my diet it makes my body shrink down because the carbs is what causes you to retain water. You begin to burn more fat and calories. As we get closer to the fight we drop the carbs more and more to the point where the only carbs I have is at breakfast and my body gets used to it. Throughout the whole time I am training and I don’t feel weak from the weight cut.

BL: Do you have to sit in the sauna to get those last few pounds off?

TA: Yeah I do sometimes. At this point in my career I know how to cut weight properly as opposed to earlier in my career when I wasn’t very good at it. Over the years you get better at it but it’s never easy dog, I hate it! I am going to begin walking around at a lower weight, maybe 190 or 195lbs.

BL: Have you ever considered fighting at 185 pounds?

TA: I think about it and people do ask me about it all the time but I think 170 is perfect for me. I would be at a size disadvantage as a middleweight because of my height. All the guys that I have fought I have felt stronger than and that’s a big advantage for me.

BL: Do you feel as though the UFC has done an adequate job as promoting you as one of its top stars?

TA: Yes, definitely. I have no complaints at all. My life has changed a lot since I came back from my suspension. In the two years that has passed everything has changed so much for me, now I am getting so much exposure. I realized just who I am, what I want and how to get it. I have no more issues, no more drama in my life and that’s a big thing for me. If it wasn’t for the UFC I wouldn’t be where I am at, don’t get me wrong, I have worked extremely hard to get to this point but they have given me the opportunity to showcase my skills. I feel like my career started at UFC 100 and I have so much ahead of me. I am a new Thiago Alves and I am going to show way more skills than I have shown before. You are going to see a more determined Thiago Alves, I have learned so much.

BL: You recently had a birthday on October 3rd and you turned 26. How do you feel about your career at this point?

TA: I am happy but not satisfied. My life is much different than before when I was working my way up the ladder. Everything is new to me now, there is so much exposure, there are more fans and more money. All the things that come with the fame and the money, I wouldn’t have known how to deal with that a few years ago but now I know where I am at and what is expected of me as a representative of the sport, the UFC and ATT. What is important to me now is being a fighter and to become a champion. It took a lot for me to leave my family behind in Brazil but I have a mission and that is to become a world champion. I am much more grounded and much more mature than I have ever been at any point in my life. I believe that is going to be a huge benefit to me as I move on throughout my career.

BL: What is your take on the #1 contender’s fight between Mike Swick and Dan Hardy at UFC 105? How do you feel the winner will fare going up against GSP?

TA: I’m not here to judge anybody or tell the UFC who should fight who or who deserves to fight GSP. That’s the UFC’s job and I think they have done a pretty good job of that. It doesn’t make a difference to me who fights GSP because I am not fighting them. I can’t worry or concentrate on things that aren’t in my control. It is what it is and I’d rather focus my attention on my own career. Both guys are tough fighters but they haven’t fought any one at the top of the division, they haven’t fought any of the big names. Life is all about opportunities and they are getting the shot to make something of their careers and I hope they do.

BL: What is your favorite fight that you have been involved in?

TA: For me it would have to be with Karo Parisyan. It was my coming out party, when I was given the fight I was so happy because at the time he was one of the division’s top contenders. That was right after my fight with Chris Lytle at UFC 78 and fans had begun to take notice of me and now I was like I am finally getting the opportunity to fight a top guy. I had been following Karo forever, he was a tough guy with great Judo and he was a big name. I had a really hard training camp to prepare for the high altitude. When I got the KO I was just like whoa!!

BL: Who are some of your favorite fighters that you enjoy watching?

TA: GSP is one of them, of course. Like I said I really look up to him in a way where I don’t want to be like him I want to be better than him. Anderson Silva, both of those guys are the best fighters in the world right now. They have different styles, with Silva he is going to look to knock you out. GSP just wears you out until he gets you where he wants you. Silva is so unpredictable. I don’t blame him for his fights with Patrick Cote and Thales Leites, he is the champion and when you are champion you don’t want to lose that belt. Why should he put himself in a position where he could get caught? At the end of the day you have to do what’s best for your career. If your opponent doesn’t want to fight you what can you do?

BL: How many fights are left under your current UFC contract?

TA: I believe I have three or four fights left on my contract.

BL: Do you plan on watching the Fedor EmelianenkoBrett Rogers fight this Saturday?

TA: Yes, Fedor is another fighter I like to watch compete. Along with GSP and Anderson Silva those three guys are fighters I love to watch. Another guy I love to watch is Wanderlei Silva, he was my favorite back in the day. He is my idol and one of the reasons I started fighting in MMA.

BL: I really appreciate the time. Is there anyone you would like to thank?

TA: No problem. I’d like to thank TapouT, Champion Nutrition, Crystal Palace, Transformers Auto and all my coaches and training partners at ATT for their support.

I would like to add that this will go down as one of my favorite interviews that I have ever done. Thiago Alves is a very nice, humble and down-to-earth guy. It took me 11 months to get this interview done and it was worth every phone call, e-mail and text that I sent.

Bryan Levick is the Long Island MMA Examiner, which is where this interview was originally published. Bryan has also written for MMA Opinion, Five Ounces of Pain and Fight Ticker.

Read more interviews by Bryan Levick.


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