“That is the performance that is inside me all the time. To get it out there was great — it got the attention of the fans and (UFC matchmaker) Sean Shelby and told my next opponents that I am here in a mission for the gold and not to fool around.
“I love to fight,” he added, reflecting on the winding road that has returned him to the spotlight, re-established him as a dark horse contender in the welterweight division, and brought him to Las Vegas this weekend riding high. “I had a few losses, but I can’t change what happened. What I can do is I learn from it, improve all aspects of my game, of my conditioning, and always show up better in my next fight.”
After navigating a series of ups and downs during his first seven years on the UFC roster, Alves is focused on using his eighth year to reach those heights many forecasted for him when his UFC journey began.
This weekend’s matchup with Wells is another step in the right direction — a second fight midway through the year, leaving him time to rest, recover, and then get back in the gym before logging one more appearance before 2021 comes to an end.
If all goes according to plan, he’ll finish the year with a number next to his name, and if he has his way, there is one individual Alves would really like to share the Octagon with sometime soon.
“My goal is to break in the Top 15 as soon as possible, so any Top 15 opponent will do for now,” he said, laying out his roadmap to contention. “What I want most is to fight Colby Covington again and shut his mouth one more time.
“I know that I am in no place to call him out now, that I need to put more wins together to make that call, but that is one of my great motivations to keep pushing it forward. You have no idea how much I don’t like him.”
