Update 11/05/09: Alves vs. Thiago will be replaced on the FedExForum UFC fight card by Fitch vs Pierce due to Thigao Alves' recent injury.
Standing at 5 foot 9 inches and weighing it at a sculpted 170 pounds, UFC welterweight
Thiago Alves looks every bit of the self-portrayed “Spartan Warrior”
that he describes UFC fighters as being. Alves, who has 22 wins and over a dozen
professional knockouts to his fighting resume, recently invaded the Bluff City
for a media tour to promote his huge UFC 107 showdown against Paulo Thiago at
FedExForum on Saturday, December 12, 2009. Despite going from appearance to appearance
faster than he knocks someone out in the Octagon, the Brazilian Muay-Thai expert
was kind enough to sit down with FedExForum.com and answer some hard-hitting questions.
After years of arena and city officials trying to bring MMA to Memphis, what
does it mean to finally bring the UFC product and the Thiago Alves brand to FedExForum?
“It means a lot to me. It means that all the hard work UFC and all of
its fighters have put in has paid off. We have a great opportunity to show Memphis
what we’re about. I know the people of Memphis are going to love it and
I can guarantee the city has never seen anything like it. It’s going to
be a unique night.”
For the casual UFC fan, describe what training camp before a big fight is like
and how it takes its toll on you both physically and mentally?
“My training camp starts nine weeks before a fight. That’s the
time I take to get ready for a fight. I train Monday through Saturday, twice
a day for six hours a day. It is what it is, but it gets me ready to fight.”
MMA fans can count on three hands how many knockouts you have in your career.
What makes it so easy for you to knock people out?
“I’ve been doing it forever. I’ve been training Muay-Thai
since I was 13 years old. Punching and kicking is natural for me – it’s
like walking. The more I do it, the better I get. I can see openings in my opponents
that most of the guys can’t see. Training hard in Muay-Thai gets me better.”
What exactly is Muay-Thai for those that may not know?
“Muay-Thai is a combination of punches and kicks. There are eight points
on the body you can use to strike. You can do pretty much anything using Muay-Thai.
There’s pretty much no ground action with it being all-standup (fighting).
It’s all about technique and it takes years to master.”
Where did you get your “Pitbull” nickname from?
It came after my first amateur fight. It was a tournament and I knocked two
guys out. After that I ran backstage and started eating because I was really
hungry. My mother made me a to-go box so I started eating with my hands. My
coach started laughing and said, ‘You’re eating with your hands
like a pitbull. That’s going to be your new nickname – The Pitbull.’”
Both you and your opponent for December 12, Paulo Thiago, suffered defeats
at UFC 100 in July. The winner of this fight in December at FedExForum will
likely be the top contender for the welterweight championship. How important
is this fight for you to come out on top?
“It means everything. Everything I’ve worked for my entire life
is for this fight in December. I want to be the champion more than anything.
That’s one thing I have to accomplish before I die. I need to get back
in that spotlight. Paulo Thiago better be ready, because I’m going to
come 100 times more ready than I was before and 100 times more hungry than I
was in July. He better be ready.”
Both you and Thiago hail from Brazil. What does that mean for Brazil to have
such top-notch mixed-martial arts talent coming from your home country?
“It means a lot to represent my country. I’ve been living here
in America for six years, but it’s always a great feeling to know you’re
doing something good for the people back home. It means a lot to me. It’s
a big thing in Brazil being in Brazil. You’re either a soccer player or
an MMA fighter. It means the world.”
What’s the biggest public misperception about UFC?
“People don’t understand the whole science and art behind being
an MMA fighter. Most of the people that don’t follow MMA think we’re
bar fighters. People need to understand we’re the most complete athletes
in fighting out there right now. Nobody trains the way that we train. It’s
a lifestyle; I eat, sleep and dream fighting. It’s all that I do. My day,
week, weekend and year is based on what I do. From the time I wake up, what
I eat dictates if I train good, how much I sleep determines how I fight, etc…
People realize we’re athletes and this is a lifestyle. I joke around with
my friends that I see us (MMA fighters) as modern-day Spartans. We’re
the most compete athletes out there right now. We’re the perfect fighting
machines. Once you start following MMA, and you find out how they get ready
for a fight, how they get to that point, what you have to go through, etc…,
people are going to appreciate the sport so much more. MMA is huge right now,
but it’s not where it’s going to be. It hasn’t come close
to reaching its peak.”
Why are you going to beat Paulo Thiago at UFC 107?
“I want it more than he does. I’m ready. I’m prepared. I
have a lot of respect for Paulo Thiago, but I have a lot of things I want to
accomplish in UFC. He’s standing in front of those things, and there’s
no way I’m going to let him stand there. I’m going to knock him
out and make a statement. The world will know I’m not playing around.”
When fans wake up the day after the event, what are they going to remember
the most about UFC 107 at FedExForum on Saturday, December 12, 2009?
“People that attend are going to simply say, ‘Wow.’ They
will say, ‘I have never seen something like that in my life. That was
the best show I’ve ever seen in my life. The energy will indescribable.”
Tickets for this event will go on sale to the public Saturday, October 24 at 10 a.m. Find tickets.
