UFC
Thiago Alves guarantees stoppage win over Siyar Bahadurzada at UFC 149
May 17, 2012 - 12:55:32 PM Thiago Alves guarantees stoppage win over Siyar Bahadurzada at UFC 149

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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

Thiago Alves hopes to get back on the winning track this July at UFC 149 in Calgary, as he takes on Afghani striker Siyar Bahadurzada. He was originally scheduled to face Yoshihiro Akiyama, but an injury took Akiyama out of the event.

For Alves, this replacement fight works perfectly.

"My main focus is to get myself ready for 15 minutes of war," he said this week in an interview with TapouT Radio (via BloodyElbow.com). "He's a striker by trade, and he's finished his last five fights by way of TKO or something like that, so I know he's going to come swinging. That's perfect, because it's my bread and butter as well."

Alves says that while he's prepared for a striking battle, he's ready for the fight to go anywhere, and he guarantees a stoppage win to bounce back from his last minute loss to Martin Kampmann in March.

"This is MMA, so I've got to be prepared everywhere in the game," he said. "My main focus is to get myself ready for 15 minutes of battle, and once we get in there, it's to institute my game plan, which is to finish him, either with a knockout or a submission. It's going to be a great fight."

"He comes from a highly decorated striking background, and he's from Golden Glory, but, he's never rolled with the big boys before. The first fight he has in the UFC was too quick. We really don't know what he's made of yet. I'm going to put him to the test, though. I know I'm the better fighter. I know I'm more well rounded. I guarantee this fight won't go the distance. I'm either going to knock him out or I'm going to submit him."

Penick's Analysis: Getting Bahadurzada into this fight actually made it a lot more interesting. Akiyama's the more well-known name, of course, but he has lost four straight fights in the UFC. Though Alves has been up and down in recent years, he's still a talented striker and can put forth some really exciting fights. Bahadurzada is coming off an exciting KO of Paulo Thiago, and this makes for an immensely intriguing fight for the UFC's debut in Calgary.