GDANSK, Poland – It’s not that common for a UFC career to survive a three-fight skid. So, when Warlley Alves walked into Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 118 meeting, he knew what was at stake.
Fortunately for Alves (11-2 MMA, 5-2 UFC), he was able to shake off back-to-back losses with a unanimous decision over Salim Touahri (10-2 MMA, 0-1 UFC). Being in this position, Alves said, was something he never thought would happen. And now that it’s over, he vows to never land himself back there again.
“I felt pressure like I’d never felt before,” Alves told reporters backstage at Ergo Arena in Gdansk, Poland. “It was a very important fight for me, very decisive. Because I knew it could make my situation in the promotion complicated.
“I knew that a loss could have me out of the UFC. And I’ve always dreamed of being here. I’ve said it once, and I’ll say it again: I’ll only leave this place when I want to. Because no one else is going to beat me.”
As if there wasn’t enough strain already, Alves had to deal with an added concern ahead of Saturday’s bout: his original opponent, Jim Wallhead, dropped out. The switch was so short notice, in fact, that “The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil 3” winner was already headed toward Poland when he found out.
That, of course, had Alves and his camp reshaping his strategy and tweaking the training as much as possible given the slim timeframe. So, taking it all into account, it’s easy to understand why we saw a slightly different version of the aggressive Alves out there.
“Because of the change in opponent, we opted for a more conservative fight,” Alves said. “And that fight, thankfully, got me the win.”
Alves is now back to doing something he had proven to be quite good at in the past: winning. Before Bryan Barberena came along, Alves held an unblemished record that included submission wins over Colby Covington and Nordine Taleb – as well as a decision over Alan Jouban. His other UFC loss was brought on by Kamaru Usman.
Alves has other reasons to celebrate, as he just got married three weeks ago. So, while he’s eager to keep the momentum going as soon as the UFC wants him, he’s holding off on any major career-related plans at least for a few days.
“I don’t want to think about fighting right now,” Alves said. “I want to rest for a week, because, after all, I need to go on my honeymoon. When I come back, I’ll think about the fight.”
Other than a cut above his eye, though, Alves says he didn’t suffer any significant damage in the bout, which could certainly translate to a quick turnaround. As for who that could be against?
“Anyone,” Alves said.
To hear more from Alves, check out the video above.
And for complete coverage of UFC Fight Night 118, check out the UFC Events section of the site.
[sigallery id=”ZdpZVGZwQMmDefuf8gtJHV” title=”Alves def. Touahri” type=”sigallery”]
