A case for why Alves should stay put at 170lbs
by David St. Martin on Aug 9, 2010 2:01 PM EDT
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We all know the story. Thiago Alves can't make weight. He's been ridiculed mercilessly, and even been chastised in the form of haiku's, but should he make the move to middleweight?
A move to 185lbs would be certain death for Alves. At 5'9, Alves would be the shortest fighter in the UFC's middleweight division by far. Rousimar Palhares being 5'8 is an extreme outlier, and since he seems content to win fights by tearing out his opponents' knees, I would assume Alves wouldn't jump at the chance to fight him. For the most part, middleweights in the UFC tend be 6'0 or taller, with only a few notable stand-outs like Wanderlei Silva coming in at 5'11. Alves would be giving up a significant amount of reach, not exactly ideal for someone who relies on striking to win fights. And his famous leg kicks? Consider them all but useless against a larger opponent looking to take him down. It's not so much that they wouldn't do damage, he just won't throw them. If he can't stay off his back against wrestlers at 170lbs, how is going to handle the middleweights?
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Completely disagree
Alves will be less likely to make weight as he gets older and is already having major issue making weight now
He is best served to completely revamp his physique so that it suits him for 185 instead of never being able to make 170 two years down the road and then fighting at 185 unprepared
if he could grow 4-5 inches, I would agree with you
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Hoya Saxa
by David St. Martin on Aug 9, 2010 2:26 PM EDT up reply actions
He needs to quit lifting and start a cross country routine
cuz the weight cutting is gonna get harder and harder as he gets older.
"I ain't got time to breath."
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Pain don't hurt...
Unless he can lose some muscle mass, he’s just shit out of luck. His bosses are tired of the excuses, and tired of paying good money to a guy who has a history of not making weight. 185lbs obviously isn’t a good choice for HIM, but it’s so bad now that something has to be done. His unreliability is his own doing, and I don’t feel sorry for him in the least if he actually does get forced up in weight.
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I agree, 185 would be certain death for him, he’s already shorter than most other welterweights. He just needs to lay off the weightlifting and drop a bit of muscle mass, make the weight cut easier on himself.
he can do it, he's done it before
He just needs to ease off his competitive advantage which is trying to cram as much weight as possible onto himself.
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by David St. Martin on Aug 9, 2010 4:44 PM EDT up reply actions
word
its rather simple- he could cut down 3 pounds of lean muscle and have no issues making weight at all.
Even a broken clock is right two times a day.
Too Effing bad.
The bottom line is he can’t make weight. Height can’t be fixed, but weight can. I’m sorry he’s a short mofo, but that’s just a cross he has to bear. THIS IS THE BIG SHOW. IF YOU CAN’T MAKE WEIGHT, YOU DON’T BELONG IN THE BIG SHOW.
I hope Daner lives up to it and makes him move up… anything else is special treatment. Not to mention the toll his body takes when he does all these diatary supplents or horse laxatives or whatever the hell he takes to shed unhealthy gobs of weight. Seriously, what is his bodyfat percentage? He’s gonna go out and start bleeding from the shnozz like the kid in Vision Quest.
"You can't bitch about a card til the card's over" - Daner
My thoughts exactly! He’s like the muscle only at WW. As joe sylva said about sherk regarding sherk as having t-rex like arms, alves does too. I do have to say that he really does have to make a better effort of loosing the weight if he does want to stay at WW…
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