Thiago Alves, the MMA fighter (not the tennis player, yes there is a tennis player with the same name) is nicknamed "Pitbull." At 15 years old, Thiago stared starting Muay Thai and 2 years after that, he started learning mixed martial arts. At 25 years old, he has a lot of experience under his belt and has defeated some big names such as Matt Hughes with a TKO in June of 2008. Fighting out of Brazil, Alves won his first fight at the age of 18 against a 31-year old opponent. Though the Pitbull won be unanimous decision, he was able to take down someone which much more experience than him. Alves trains out of American Top Team academy in Coconut Creek, Florida where some other fighters also train, such as Mike Thomas Brown.
Thiago got his start in the UFC after receiving an invitation in fight on the show The Ultimate Fighter 2. The fight took place against Spencer Fisher on Thiago's 22nd birthday. Unfortunantely, Alves did not receive the gift of winning that day as he lost from a triangle choke by Fisher. Surprisingly he lost the fight with his background and experience with Brazilian jiu-jitsu.
He continued to defeat some UFC fighters such as Ansar Chalangov and Derrick Noble but lost to Jon Fitch. There was some controversy surrounding Thiago when he was suspended by the Nevada State Athletic Commision and fined for $5,500 for failing a drug test. He tested positive for spironolactone, which was used to help him lose water weight to put him under 170 lbs for his fight against Tony DeSouza, which Alves won.
On July 11, 2009, there wil be a long-awaited fight with Thiago Alves against Georges St. Pierre (GSP). The winner of that match will be titled the UFC Welterweight Championship. It should be an exciting match as both fighters are athletic and matched up. Although Alves is relatively young, he will put up a great fight against the Canadian GSP. This should be one of the most anticipated fights for the summer of 2009.
Fight History
Event | Opponent | Method | Round | Date | Time | Result |
| UFC 90 - Silva vs. Cote | Josh Koscheck | Decision (Unanimous) | 3 | 10/25/2008 | 5:00 | Win |
| UFC 85 - Bedlam | Matt Hughes | TKO (Flying Knee and Punches) | 2 | 6/7/2008 | 1:02 | Win |
| UFC - Fight Night 13 | Karo Parisyan | TKO (Knee and Punches) | 2 | 4/2/2008 | 0:34 | Win |
| UFC 78 - Validation | Chris Lytle | TKO (Doctor Stoppage) | 2 | 11/17/2007 | 5:00 | Win |
| UFC - Fight Night 11 | Kuniyoshi Hironaka | TKO (Punch and Knee) | 2 | 9/19/2007 | 4:04 | Win |
| UFC 66 - Liddell vs Ortiz II | Tony DeSouza | KO (Knee) | 2 | 12/30/2006 | 1:10 | Win |
| UFC - The Final Chapter | John Alessio | Decision (Unanimous) | 3 | 10/10/2006 | 5:00 | Win |
| UFC - Ultimate Fight Night 5 | Jon Fitch | TKO (Upkick and Punches) | 2 | 6/28/2006 | 4:37 | Loss |
| UFC 59 - Reality Check | Derrick Noble | TKO (Punches) | 1 | 4/15/2006 | 2:54 | Win |
| UFC 56 - Full Force | Ansar Chalangov | TKO (Punches) | 1 | 11/19/2005 | 2:25 | Win |
| UFC - Ultimate Fight Night 2 | Spencer Fisher | Submission (Triangle Choke) | 2 | 10/3/2005 | 4:43 | Loss |
| KOTC - Payback | Jeff Cox | KO (Knee and Punches) | 1 | 2/25/2005 | 0:15 | Win |
| IHC 8 - Ethereal | Jason Chambers | Submission (Punches) | 1 | 11/20/2004 | 4:57 | Win |
| AFC 7 - Absolute Fighting Championships 7 | Nuri Shakir | Decision | 2 | 2/27/2004 | 5:00 | Win |
| AFC 6 - Absolute Fighting Championships 6 | Derrick Noble | Submission (Rear Naked Choke) | 2 | 12/6/2003 | 2:13 | Loss |
| HFC 2 - Hardcore Fighting Championships 2 | Marcus Davis | Decision (Split) | 3 | 10/18/2003 | 5:00 | Win |
| BCN 2 - Bitetti Combat Nordeste 2 | Carlos Alexandre Pereira | TKO (Punches) | 2 | 3/20/2003 | N/A | Win |
| BCN 1 - Bitetti Combat Nordeste 1 | Fabio Holanda | Decision (Unanimous) | 3 | 11/28/2002 | 5:00 | Win |
| CN 3 - Champions Night 3 | Wilson Belchoir | KO (Punch) | 1 | 10/8/2001 | N/A | Win |
