Good news "Pitbull" fans: Brazilian wrecking ball Thiago Alves' surgery to repair a torn pectoral muscle was a success and is targeting a late 2012 return to the Octagon.
After suffering the injury in training, which forced him to withdraw from his scheduled UFC 149 bout against fellow stand-up specialist Siyar Bahadurzada in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, Alves went under the knife to resolve the issue and updated everyone via his official Twitter account of his current health status:
"Great news, just talked to my doctor and my (physical therapist). They both told me I'll be back fighting again by December. I can't wait!"
Alves was last seen tapping out to Martin Kampmann after the Dane trapped him in an air-tight guillotine at UFC on FX: "Alves vs. Kampmann" on March 3, 2012, in Sydney, Australia, in a fight the former number one Welterweight contender seemingly had in the bag before the submission.
Originally, The American Top Team (ATT)-trained fighter was penciled in to face Japanese superstar Yoshihiro Akiyama at UFC 149, but an injury forced "Sexyama" off the event.
After a hot start to his UFC career, Alves has seen better days inside the Octagon.Since coming up short in his attempt at dethroning UFC Welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre at UFC 100 three years ago, "Pitbull" has gone a bleak 2-3 after reeling off seven consecutive victories against the promotion's top 170-pound fighters prior to his encounter with "Rush."
However, at only 28-years of age, the mixed martial artist (MMA) has youth on his side and is far from done with plenty of years ahead of him to right his ship and prove that he is as dangerous as ever. Whether or not his recent surgery will hinder his future performances remains to be seen.
His climb back to the top won't be easy as the UFC's 170-pound division is currently one big cluster with Johny Hendricks, Martin Kampmann and Carlos Condit all patiently waiting for their shots at the title.
Anyone care to throw out some suggestions for Thiago's welcome back fight?