UFC Fight Night 67: Calos Condit vs. Thiago Alves — A Closer Look

Closing out the MMA action for the month of May is a pair of fan favorites when the Octagon travels south to beautiful Brazil on Saturday. This 67th installment of the “UFC Fight Night” events will be headlined by former 2-time 170lbs champion, Carlos Condit as he takes on Brazil’s own, Thiago Alves. For Condit it will be his first main event in Brazil, for Alves it will be his first main event in his home country. Will the layoff hinder Condit as he aims to work his way back again towards the top of the division? Or will the home town crowd give Alves that needed to push in order for him to shove his way back to the front of the welterweight line? Here is a closer look at what to expect this weekend in the welterweight fused Fight Night: Goiania main event.

“The Natural Born Killer” Carlos Condit (29-8) emerges from inactivity following probably the worst run of his pro career as he has lost 3 of his last 4 bouts. The decline began ironically enough after a 5-fight winning streak that culminated with him upsetting Nick Diaz to capture interim UFC gold in 2012. That victory landed the New Mexico native a UFC welterweight title unification against then division ruler, Georges St. Pierre at UFC 154 the same year. He lost a unanimous decision to the Canadian kingpin that night and would suffer another decision loss against Johny Hendricks the following year. He temporarily bounced back the summer of 2013 by avenging a controversial loss to Martin Kampmann via 4th round TKO. However, things turned once again on the 31-year old when he lost to Tyron Woodley in March of 2014 by way of 2nd round TKO. Woodley instinctively attacked his foe’s leg during the match which resulted in Condit being unable to continue due to a torn ACL in his right knee. Now, healed and hell-bent on climbing the highest mountain, the #4 ranked star aims to right his ship and set course for another UFC welterweight title to wrap around his waist.

Thiago “Pitbull” Alves (26-9) continues his crusade to conquer all obstacles inside the cage now that the he has stayed healthy and injury-free winning 3 out of his last 4 fights thanks to resiliency of the highest order. Back in 2011, he submitted Papy Abedi via 1st round rear naked choke before suffering his own submission loss to Martin Kampmann in March of 2012 in a fight that he was winning. Alves was struck with a couple of injuries prompting him to cancel two scheduled matches over the next 24 months. He triumphantly came back in April of 2014 dismantling Seth Baczynski by way of unanimous decision earning a “Performance of the Night” bonus. Nevertheless, skeptics still reserved judgment wondering if this was the same Alves who not that long ago put together a solid 7-fight win streak that landed him a title fight in 2009 against Georges St. Pierre. It definitely seemed like it was when he stepped in as an underdog to face surging contender Jordan Mein earlier this year at UFC 183. That January night, the American top Team representative destroyed his opponent with a vicious counter-body kick TKO that sent Mein kneeling to the canvas in agonizing pain 39 seconds into the 2nd round. With momentum on his side and a country in his corner the #12 ranked warrior seems ready to storm through the division’s best.

With both men’s careers closing in on that “it’s now or never” fork in the road, this weekend’s main event is the epitome of a crossroads match. MMA is a young man’s sport therefore both fighters at 31 years of age probably hear Father Time knocking on the door, even if it’s a distant, faint knock. Fortunately for their loyal fan bases, they have come to this point together and in the most opportune of time because they are equally seasoned, equally versed on the ground and feet and they are equally reckless. The Achelle’s Heel for both is a powerful wrestler with a mean top game. Neither guy is that in fact, Carlos Condit while alert on going for submissions off of his back and working a deadly attack when in his opponent’s guard simply loves to stand and bang. Meanwhile, Thiago Alves is a brown belt in BJJ but you would never guess that as he glides through the air blasting his foes with flying knees or twisting his body around the Octagon via spinning back fists and lead elbows. The only question will be whose body will hold up to the punishment in this potential fight of the year candidate?

The scar tissue above Alves’ eyebrows and around his eyes and forehead seems to only get thinner each fight. A vicious combination from Condit’s patented arsenal can easily open up a cut on the “Pitbull” as Condit uses his 4-inch height advantage to pop his jab or snap away leg kicks and unleash fire on his man. Oddly enough, Condit likes to give up his height and reach to opponents as he closes in with standing knees mixed with forearms in the pocket. The likely scenario here is that while hunching over, he is caught with something short and fierce from Alves that makes Condit slightly rethink his approach. Luckily, this will only be a momentarily pause to the action as both combatants are all heart and have one direction when stepping inside of the Octagon: forward. Somebody’s will , spirit or skin will break this weekend for the UFC Fight Night 67 headliner between former WEC and UFC interim welterweight champion, Carlos Condit and former title contender, Thiago Alves. Exactly whose will be answered in the span of 1 round or 25 minutes and it will be a memorable affair as they battle it out from Brazil live on Fox Sports 1 this Saturday night.