Thiago Alves stopped former UFC welterweight champion and future hall of famer Matt Hughes via technical knockout early in round two on Saturday, June 7th, at UFC 85 “Bedlam” in front of a sold-out crowd at the O2 Arena in London, England.
The showdown between two of the UFC’s top welterweight contenders was the main event of the eleven-bout pay-per-view event.
Just one day removed from failing to make weight for the bout, which was contested at a catchweight of 175-pounds, Alves stuffed several first-round takedown attempts by Hughes and delivered the majority of the damage in the opening round. Early in the second, Alves caught Hughes with a flying knee that dropped him to the mat and quickly followed with several hard punches to the head to force the referee stoppage 62 seconds into the second round.
After the bout, Alves promptly apologized for failing to make weight the day before, adding that he had sprained an ankle leading up to the bout and was unable to run or train to drop the additional weight.
With the win, the biggest of his young career and his sixth straight in the octagon, the 24-year-old Brazilian, who trains out of American Top Team, now has his eyes set on a welterweight title shot. “Mr. Dana White, I’ve been a good boy. Please give me a title shot,” said Alves.
“He’s a good fighter, he got me, no doubt,” said Hughes following the decisive loss. However, the former UFC champion promised at least one more bout before he finishes his career, calling out longtime rival and fellow former champion Matt Serra.
In the co-main event, England-native Michael Bisping dominated Jason Day, defeating his middleweight foe off with strikes midway through the first round. Bisping dominated from the onset, securing an early trip takedown then unleashing a flurry of ground and pound from side mount. Day was able to scramble away twice but Bisping quickly picked up where he left off, pounding on Day until the bout was halted at the 3:42 mark of the opening frame due to overwhelming strikes.
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Thiago Alves, Kevin Burns, Matt Wiman, and Thiago Tavares were each awarded $50,000 bonues for their efforts Saturday night at UFC 85 “Bedlam” at the O2 Arena in London, England.
