Thiago “Pitbull” Alves in 2009 had his dreamed-of shot at the belt. But after losing to Georges St.-Pierre, the fighter suffered an arterial problem in his brain, postponing his March bout with Jon Fitch.
Next, the Brazilian again had problems making weight, in August. Besides getting an earful from his boss, Dana White, the American Top Team representative was thoroughly handled by Fitch in one of the worst performances of his career.
This Saturday night, though, what we saw in the octagon at UFC 124 was the old Pitbull in action, with plenty dominance and aggressiveness in his fight with John Howard.
“I’m happy because I worked really hard. I like his fights and I’ve watched them before. I liked this fight from the beginning. I knew that with the proper preparation, right training, I’d bring him into my game,” he said.