How does Thiago Alves fare at MW?

Sounds like they aren't going to give him much of a choice. That said, where do you see Thiago at MW ranking wise?

Bisping territory at best IMO.

He's 5'9

I was saying this the day of the weigh ins that i thought he needed to move up but to be honest i think he can be very good but he wont be able to beat the best. Spider, Sonnen, Nate would probably all destroy him but I do think he has to make the move.

If he can't stop Fitch and GSP takedowns good luck with the future MW champion Chael Sonnen.

Wolfgangsta wrote:

If he can't stop Fitch and GSP takedowns good luck with the future MW champion Chael Sonnen.

Great point about not being able to stop the takedowns but I think Chael had his chance last night to beat spider and didnt get it done. In a rematch I think Spider wins again without taking such a beatdown.

timthebim wrote:

Wolfgangsta wrote:

If he can't stop Fitch and GSP takedowns good luck with the future MW champion Chael Sonnen.

Great point about not being able to stop the takedowns but I think Chael had his chance last night to beat spider and didnt get it done. In a rematch I think Spider wins again without taking such a beatdown.

Thats what everyone said about Machida too. If Chael gets a second chance I don't see him getting caught in a sub again. He was at several points outstriking Silva albeit he did get rocked a couple times himself.

Yeah I thought Shogun won the 1st fight and thought he would win a rematch with machida also but Im just not sure Chael has anything more to offer than what he did last night with his wrestling and if Spider stuffs just a couple of those he probably gets a KO in my opion. Not trying to take away anything from Chaels performance cause he was awesome but I think Spider would make some adjustments and win a rematch. Hopefully we see it fast.

Anderson ran from Maia for a reason. His time is short. Now we know why he's hinted a retirement. Anderson Silva is older than Matt Hughes and Wanderlei Silva.

You don't make a few adjustments and all of a sudden not be a shitty wrestler.

Wolf u think Spider ran for Maia cause he was scared LOL????? Gimmie a break. In 10 years Maia still wouldnt be able to beat spider. Chael is very good and I wouldnt be shocked if he beat Spider but I think Spider would make some changes and find a way to stop some of those takedowns and win the fight by TKO. Just my opion.

Thiago Alves is too big for Welterweight but too small for Middleweight, he's screwed unless he changes his lifestyle when he's not fighting.

I can't believe I agree with everything Wolfy has said. Chael Sonnen would decimate Alves and I don't see Chael dropping very much, if at all, in the rankings. I know one thing for sure, that because of last nights performance, The top ten of the MW division looks a lot more crowded. I now look at the list and say, Nate can make a real fight of it, so can Jake, Okami, & Vitor. If Chael is smart and takes on a fulltime BJJ Coach and a proven striking coach, he will be damn near impossible to fight with his uptempo style and wrestling ability. Either way, we now Know that Chael Sonnen is destined to replace Joe Rogan.

thiago would have to rely on speed moving in and out but dont see him do that at WW so why would he develop good footwork at MW?

Thiago Alves usually enjoys a size and power advantage at Welterweight which gave him alot of his success or at least helped facilitate it. I'm not saying he isn't extremely skilled because he clearly is. But his wrestling isn't on par to deal with the monsters of the Middleweight division who can, will, and like taking guys down and pounding them into nothingness. Nate would smash him, Vitor would outstrike and probably mangle him, Chael would have his way with him and Okami would control him.

At Middleweight Thiago Alves probably sits around the 8-11 range in terms of rankings and only if he fights strictly striking type opponents and maybe not even then.

It's a bad idea for Alves to move up, like I've been saying he needs to alter his lifestyle when he's not fighting so he doesn't come into camp heavy. Maybe hire a nutrisionist or new conditioning coach.

Did anyone else notice he looked significantly smaller this time around? His lats, his pecs, his traps, and even his head looked to have gotten smaller even during the fight itself he looked alot smaller than Fitch. I think this brain thing had more effect than we realize.

LudoCain wrote:

Did anyone else notice he looked significantly smaller this time around? His lats, his pecs, his traps, and even his head looked to have gotten smaller even during the fight itself he looked alot smaller than Fitch. I think this brain thing had more effect than we realize.

I noticed that also Ludo,Thiago didn't look as ripped as he usually is.

I also noticed that. Looked alot weaker also. Normally he is a very strong dude and I just didnt see it last night.

I don't think he fares well at all at MW. Despite not being able to make weight, he looked much smaller then Fitch. He'd be a midget at MW.

Ur right Captain he would be small but if he is killing himself to make weight then he may have to move up.

timthebim wrote:

Ur right Captain he would be small but if he is killing himself to make weight then he may have to move up.

I guess, but I tend to think he could do a much better job in the weight cut department, and it should start long b4 the final couple days b4 the fight.. He certainly didn't look like a big ww last night.


and I figure u beat me, right tim? fricking Guida.

Yeah I think I did beat u. Did u change some picks because I thought we had all the same picks??

timthebim wrote:

Yeah I think I did beat u. Did u change some picks because I thought we had all the same picks??

yeah changed the Guida pick to Anjos. dumb move on my part. I half thought about switching up the Story Hazelett fight. But hindsight and all that.

F'd up the Davis pick, had Davis, but somehow it's back to Nedkov, got the loss there too.