Alves Fails To Make Weight

by Robert Sargent

Just one week after Gina Carano missed weight at EliteXC: Primetime, the UFC now faces the same issue after Thiago "Pitbull" Alves weighed in at 174 pounds for his UFC 85 bout with Matt Hughes. The fight will now be a catchweight.

UFC management cannot be pleased with this turn of events, especially after the backlash when Travis Lutter missed weight before his fight with Anderson Silva last year.

Missing weight is quickly becoming a noteworthy problem in mixed martial arts, not so much because the extra few pounds will necessarily make any difference in terms of performance, but rather because missing weight for any bout, much less a high-profile one, is highly disrespectful to the opponent.

Typically, both fighters must cut weight before a fight. When one makes weight and the other fails to do so, it is difficult not to see the situation as a slap in the face to the fighter who came in at the contracted weight.

Alves comes in at 174 pounds, four pounds over the contracted weight and three pounds over the acceptable weight for the bout; a non-title bout with the standard one-pound allowance.

This actually suggests that Alves's weight cut was likely a difficult one, and he may very well come into the fight dehydrated and lacking the cardio that he may need if the fight goes past the first round.

Hughes, on the other hand, is well-known for his cardio and ability to push the pace as fights enter the later stages. He will no doubt look to take advantage of a depleted Alves by ensuring that the fight does not end early.

Alves has promised that he is going to dominate Hughes and knock him out, and that may be his only chance in this fight. Win or lose, the UFC may now be reluctant to put Alves in a future title fight unless his ability to make the 170-pound limit is assured.