UFC 107: Thiago Alves vs Paulo Thiago on tap for Dec. 12

by Jesse Holland on Sep 7, 2009 10:16 AM EDT

alves-thiago

After weeks of speculation, MMAmania.com can confirm that Brazilian welterweights Thiago Alves and Paulo Thiago will collide at UFC 107, set for the FedEx Forum in Memphis, Tenn., on Dec. 12.

And fans who hang on every word of UFC play-by-play man Mike Goldberg in search for the next big Goldie-ism are likely to find a king's ransom.

"The Pitbull" is working his way back from a five-round unanimous decision loss to 170-pound kingpin Georges St. Pierre at UFC 100 back on July 11.

The defeat snapped a seven-fight win streak that saw him finish top-ranked opponents Matt Hughes and Karo Parisyan, as well as outpoint Josh Koscheck on all three judges scorecards at UFC 90 in October of 2008.

He was on a two-year tear, with five of those seven wins ending by way of (technical) knockout. Alves, in fact, had not lost since 2006, which was against another top fighter in the division, Jon Fitch.

Like his South American counterpart, Paulo Thiago also fought Josh Koscheck and Jon Fitch -- albeit to different results.

The Constrictor Team product stunned the division with a TKO stoppage over "Kos" at UFC 95: "Sanchez vs. Stevenson" in his Octagon debut last January.

Fitch, friend and training partner of Koscheck, was looking for revenge at UFC 100, where he handed Paulo the first defeat of his career.

In a move that seems almost like punishment, Thiago must now face his third top-ten welterweight in the span of a year when he tangles with an angry "Pitbull" in just a few months.

Deep waters for the Brazilian -- it's sink or swim this December.

UFC 107 is expected to feature a 155-pound bout between current lightweight champion BJ Penn and the hungrier-than-ever Diego "Nightmare" Sanchez, as well as a heavyweight showdown between former champion Frank Mir and Cheick Kongo.

Stay tuned for more updates on this developing fight card.

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Comments

go thiago!!

by guyverbob on Sep 7, 2009 10:19 AM EDT reply actions

joe silva is a douche

by shamo84 on Sep 7, 2009 11:29 AM EDT up reply actions

Goldie “Thiago is known for that, isn’t he Joe?”
Joe “Which Thiago are you talking about”
Goldie “Exactly what I was saying Joe, Thiago is all about that type of style”
Joe “……..What?”
Goldie “And I gotta tell you Joe, I love mixed nuts.”
Joe “..Wha….What the f***” (takes off head set and starts yelling at Dana that he told him he wanted a new broadcast partner)

by Freddy on Sep 7, 2009 3:11 PM EDT up reply actions

LOL! If only though- i don’t think they’ll replace Goldy even if he has a stroke.

by NameNotRequired on Sep 7, 2009 3:47 PM EDT up reply actions

believe it or not i knew about this fight for like a week, i saw it on wikipedia, not a reliable source but hey..

by guyverbob on Sep 7, 2009 6:13 PM EDT up reply actions

Freddy that was fuckin awesome

by Fight Club on Sep 8, 2009 4:36 AM EDT up reply actions

wow they have really chucked thiago in to the deep end

ufc debut vs koscheck
2nd fight vs fitch
3rd fight vs Alves

2 number 1 contenders and a top 10 ww in your first 3 fights! they are certainly not giving him the bisping treatment

by ufcaddict on Sep 8, 2009 6:46 AM EDT up reply actions

Paulo Thiago sure aint getting any easy fights in the UFC.

by attakdog on Sep 7, 2009 10:23 AM EDT reply actions

The UFC def. hasn’t tossed him a bone yet. Guess they wanna see what he’s made of from the get go.

by pwilson on Sep 7, 2009 10:29 AM EDT up reply actions

Strange really, he’s only had 12 fights and this’ll be his third top 10 opponent in a row, talk about being thrown in at the deepend. Someone like Dan Hardy who’s had nigh on 30 fights is only just being given Stun Gun.

by attakdog on Sep 7, 2009 10:38 AM EDT up reply actions

it would suck to see them let him go after this fight if he loses.. most other fighters would have a worst record against the same three fighters.

by shogun on Sep 7, 2009 11:34 AM EDT up reply actions

Paulo wanted top competition becasue he came in with so much hype and was undefeated. He is very good and this fight I wouldnt be suprised if he wins. Although, this is a very tough one, Alves is a beast and will be training harder than ever to come back after his title shot loss. This will be an insane fight I think with two very good fighters looking to get to the top.

by Cantrim on Sep 7, 2009 12:00 PM EDT up reply actions

so much hype? LOL!.. Thiago has this one in the bag

by RoBerto on Sep 7, 2009 12:12 PM EDT up reply actions

Much respect to him for taking on all top contenders, but my boy Alves is going to systematically batter him!

by john G on Sep 7, 2009 10:30 AM EDT up reply actions

Fedor vs Rogers as early as October 10th John.

by attakdog on Sep 7, 2009 10:31 AM EDT up reply actions

oh Happy day! thanks for the heads up!

UFC signs Alexander Gustafsson (undefeated swedish fighter) LHW!

by john G on Sep 7, 2009 10:47 AM EDT up reply actions

That aint official yet buddy, just thought I’d pass on what i’ve heard.

Alexander Gustafsson?? Hmmmmmmm, what’s the betting he debuts at 105, Terry Etim anyone???

by attakdog on Sep 7, 2009 10:50 AM EDT up reply actions

yeah I read that somewhere, apparently hes making his debut at 105, you know anything about him?

by nick on Sep 7, 2009 11:50 AM EDT up reply actions

He’s swedish, 6’3 LHW… 8-0 record, he’s coming from a boxing background with good takedown defense

by RoBerto on Sep 7, 2009 12:13 PM EDT up reply actions

Hey RoB, Is he as good as your other great Swedish fighter Per Eklund?? Man I enjoyed seeing him waste a spot on the UK cards.

by attakdog on Sep 7, 2009 12:17 PM EDT up reply actions

I hope not, per s!cks… I think this guy is better, and I like that he’s a standup fighter, it’s so lame when new BJJ guys come up cause truth be told BJJ guys can’t really fight, all they know is jits and unless you’re Demian Maia you’ll lose right away…

From what i’ve seen though, he carries his hands a bit low and i hate to see that unless you move like Anderson Silva..

by RoBerto on Sep 7, 2009 12:20 PM EDT up reply actions

He’ll be fine fighting Terry Etim, he punches worse than Bizzzbing.

by attakdog on Sep 7, 2009 12:24 PM EDT up reply actions

i bet he is fighting lil nog

by Nokia on Sep 7, 2009 12:26 PM EDT up reply actions

yeah, there’s only a 50lbs weight difference.. so that would be a good fight

by RoBerto on Sep 7, 2009 12:28 PM EDT up reply actions

My bad he fights at LHW NOT LW.

by attakdog on Sep 7, 2009 12:28 PM EDT up reply actions

japp, I don’t really care if the swedish fighters wins or not..

by RoBerto on Sep 7, 2009 12:30 PM EDT up reply actions

Here’s one for you Rob

When asked about the recent comments Liddell made about Ortiz needing a win or two under his belt to make him relevant enough to face again inside the octagon, Ortiz said:

"That’s kinda funny. I think he needs to get a couple of wins under his belt also. I think he’s been knocked out four of his last five fights. I’ve never been knocked out unconscious in any of my fights in my whole career in the last thirteen years so for him to say those words is like calling the kettle black. It is what it is, Chuck Liddell’s career’s done, he going to "Dancing With The Stars" and hopefully he can dance better than he can fight."

When asked whether that is a fight we would like to see happen in the future and if we’d see a different result this time around, Ortiz said:

"Love to do it, love to do it. Anytime would be awesome. I’m a totally different fighter. People have to understand I had back problems when me and Chuck Liddell fought the two times and now that my back don’t hurt and I have no problems at all it would be a totally different fight, different aggressiveness and just a different fight all around."

Lol, good old Tito.

by attakdog on Sep 7, 2009 12:49 PM EDT up reply actions

bawhahaha that’s some funny shit!!!! Tito Ortiz is right Chuck still think he is good but losing 4 of the last 5 fight he would be lucky if Dana even let him fight again… lol

by dkortez on Sep 7, 2009 1:37 PM EDT up reply actions

hahahaha thanks for brightening up my day with all that silly talk, Attack Dog!

Good Ol Tito! Problem is that I already heard all these damn excuses out of him before. Leading up to every single one of his last 10 fights, he told us that in his last lackluster performance that his back hindered him, and that now he is finally h ealed and we will see a different Tito, yada yada yada!

I actually know the doctor that did Quarry and Tito’s groundbreaking surgery..he said Tito is a freakshow. Him and Jenna showed up at his quite office in a Bently, both wearing Furs acting all loud.

Get you really cant BUY class!

by john G on Sep 7, 2009 1:58 PM EDT up reply actions

excuses? if he had back pain, he had back pain. it doesn’t matter if he says it or not.. the ppl that clanks down on someone for using “excuses” when it’s the truth, is the definition of an idiot..

by RoBerto on Sep 7, 2009 2:38 PM EDT up reply actions

Oh, the antidote will bring back his back problems. Coleman is gonna SD him to a glorious victory. Remember i predicted a coleman win against Bonnar. Ortiz can’t handle his beast takedowns. And his pansy punches will only help a gassed out coleman zero in on where to shoot. This fight will be awesome.

Roberto- what if he says his back problems never really went away after the loss? Would you believe him?

by NameNotRequired on Sep 7, 2009 3:52 PM EDT up reply actions

1. A foolish or stupid person.

2. A person of profound mental retardation having a mental age below three years and generally being unable to learn connected speech or guard against common dangers. The term belongs to a classification system no longer in use and is now considered offensive.

Actual definition of idiot..

by Blubber on Sep 7, 2009 4:39 PM EDT up reply actions

I’ve seen a lot of Alexanders fights in sweden and his really good. Much more exciting fighting-style than both Bielkheden and Per Eklund. Dont know if his ready yet :( just 22.

But i think, from what ive heard from my friends that train with him that he will perhaps compete at 185. And no, the deal isnt signed yet. Just negotiations…

FYI – he works as a bouncer in sthlm. The best “fight” ive ever seen with him was when he KO’ed, i mean reeeeeeeally KO’ed 2 guys on the dancefloor. BIG guys… and then continued drinking his “Ramlösa” (water) while the other bouncers where dragging their asses out. So damn funny… Hes cool and calm, and he looks dorky so a lot of idiots choose to attack him over the other bouncers when it comes to that :)

by Choke_Him on Sep 8, 2009 5:12 AM EDT up reply actions

I dont get why P.Thiago’s gettin all these top guys? Most guys would need to earn it. He was losing to Koscheck before he ko’d him, then he got beat by Fitch…why is he now fighting Alves? This is stupid. Alves has nothing to gain.

by Stryker on Sep 7, 2009 10:35 AM EDT up reply actions

they gave kos thiago because he’s been talking about how he wanted to be the most active fighter in the ufc, so they threw him an unbeaten prospect(untested admittadely). He got knocked out, the brass was impressed so they gave him fitch and did the whole “revenge” ploy, and it took fitch all three rounds; it might have been different if they hadn’t messed with the fight schedule, but oh well. And now alves because they were impressed with the fitch fight, and i don’t know wht else. maybe they just want a battle of the thiagos for the hell of it

by connor on Sep 7, 2009 11:39 AM EDT up reply actions

A solid test for Alves to make his comeback on with the avaible fighters a possible Fitch and Alves fight early in 2010?

by Beaver on Sep 7, 2009 3:08 PM EDT up reply actions

Go BJ/Diego at 205!

by ec4life on Sep 7, 2009 10:24 AM EDT reply actions

gotta typo, boss. lightweight is 155, not 205.

by dropnskirtz on Sep 7, 2009 10:24 AM EDT reply actions

205lbs bout between lightweights

by Nnr on Sep 7, 2009 10:25 AM EDT reply actions

lol 205 lightweight title bout between Bj and sanches… Joe Silva must hate Paulo Thiago to make him fight Thiago Alves on his first fight since his humilating loss to GSP.. RIP Paulo Thiago

by dario cortez on Sep 7, 2009 10:30 AM EDT reply actions

wtf is wrong with Silva? Are they gonna give Paulo a break? C’mon, he fought Kos first, then Fitch and now Alves? Three top 5ers. Damn, Paulo is the man. I’d call Silva a douche if he cuts Paulo(assuming he loses to Alves)
Warrr Paulo!!!!!!!!!

by Pamirec on Sep 7, 2009 10:30 AM EDT reply actions

Thiago got this.

by Jee on Sep 7, 2009 10:31 AM EDT reply actions

har har, I suck at copy and pasting. 155 for bj

by Jesse Holland on Sep 7, 2009 10:38 AM EDT reply actions

again…your problem is in the pasting

by McArthur on Sep 7, 2009 11:14 AM EDT up reply actions

i used to eat glue.. but that was in kindergarten

by shogun on Sep 7, 2009 11:30 AM EDT up reply actions

Unreal, Anthony Johnson looks like he could be a real force at 170 yet he’s not had anybody in the top 10. PT walks straight into three of the top 5 (maybe not Kos) contenders, without skipping a beat.

by oskarbravo on Sep 7, 2009 10:44 AM EDT reply actions

My money’s on Thiago.

by Jase on Sep 7, 2009 10:48 AM EDT reply actions

‘Like his South American counterpart, Paulo Thiago also fought Josh Koscheck and Jon Fitch — albeit to different results.’

Didn’t they both beat Kos and both lose to fitch?

by JoeVizz on Sep 7, 2009 10:57 AM EDT reply actions

indeed. though thiago won by stoppage and lost by decision, while alves won by decision and lost by stoppage.

btw, what’s up with the goldie comment?

by pants on Sep 7, 2009 1:43 PM EDT up reply actions

paulo has been fighting nothing but top guys.

by mata-leon on Sep 7, 2009 11:06 AM EDT reply actions

Did Paulo offend the UFC?? This guy is getting the torture treatment.

by Dennis on Sep 7, 2009 11:21 AM EDT reply actions

Great fight, shame for Paulo as he has had to fight top competition immediately, seems like the UFC only wants him around for an easy win but so far it hasn’t happened. This is a dangerous fight though, Alves will be angry after his last disappointing display and will have a point to prove, Paulo is dangerous on the ground but I don’t see him getting it there and Alves is a much better striker than Fitch and Kos. As tough as Paulo is I’d be amazed if Alves doesn’t finish this fight.

by David W-S on Sep 7, 2009 11:23 AM EDT reply actions

thiago vs thiago lols

by mad_drummer on Sep 7, 2009 11:43 AM EDT reply actions

lol if they married he would be thiago thiago

by dropnskirtz on Sep 7, 2009 12:16 PM EDT up reply actions

Alves VS Thiago. Already sounds confusing as hell. I have Alves by KO.

by Chris on Sep 7, 2009 12:15 PM EDT reply actions

Actually, I would rather see Fitch VS Alves in a rematch. Both have evolved greatly since their last fight.

by Chris on Sep 7, 2009 12:16 PM EDT reply actions

Yeah, I agree. Fitch Vs Alves is the fight I wanna see.

by Couchchamp on Sep 8, 2009 6:22 AM EDT up reply actions

thiago vs alves.. jejejeje

by mad_drummer on Sep 7, 2009 1:30 PM EDT reply actions

How does Paulo keep getting top 5 WW. I don’t know how he got the fight against Kos. Kos was working him and got caught. So okay now he has some cred, so then Fitch works him over and now he gets the number 2 WW……wtf Joe

I guess it should be a highlight reel KO to get Alves’ confidence back.

by Dave O on Sep 8, 2009 11:05 AM EDT reply actions