Sucks to be you

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Look up the definition of a "meat grinder" and you will see a picture of Paulo Thiago staring back at you. 

The Brazilian MMA product is now on to his third act of a long slog through the top of the welterweight division. Paulo will fight Thiago Alves at UFC 107. 

That sound you heard was Joe Silva closing the book and Paulo. 

As of this moment all three of Paulo's fights in the UFC have come against top-ten fighters and temporally, all of those fights occurred when Thiago's opponents were in the top-five.

Thiago burst onto the scene with a surprising KO victory over Josh Koscheck. Later it became public that had Koscheck won he would have been on the verge of a title shot. This upset victory should have put Paulo on the path of promising young prospect, similar to what happened to Junior dos Santos after he knocked out Fabricio Werdum. But the UFC decided to see what Paulo really had and put him up against former number one contender, Jon Fitch, at UFC 100. 

Realistically Paulo's UFC resume, specifically, fighting three top-five fighters in a row, is more akin to that of a champion.

Has there ever been a fighter who was so blatantly thrown to the wolves?