Alves back for rematch in UFC 117

OAKLAND, Calif. — For a time, it seemed Thiago Alves would never get his rematch with Jon Fitch.

An MRI exam in March cast serious doubt whether Alves would fight anyone again.

Alves was days from getting the chance to avenge his first Ultimate Fighting Championship loss when a routine prefight MRI exam revealed an abnormality of the blood vessels in his brain.

Alves suddenly faced the possibility of career-ending, invasive surgery to correct the malformation.

“I wasn’t really concerned about my health. I knew nothing was wrong with me, but I did have concern when I heard it could be career-ending,” he said Wednesday. “For me, that was the main thing. Losing the fight and hearing that term, ‘career-ending.’ ”

Days after the discovery, Alves underwent a procedure to fix the problem, sparing him the most extreme option and allowing him to continue fighting.

He will return to competition and finally get another shot at Fitch at UFC 117 on Saturday.

“It’s been four years since the last time we fought,” Alves said. “I want it really bad.”

The matchup has been proposed and booked on several occasions, but between timing and injuries, something always seemed to get in the way.

Since the second-round knockout by Fitch in 2006, both fighters have risen to the top of the welterweight ranks, with each losing once, in title fights against Georges St. Pierre.

Alves hasn’t fought since a one-sided loss to St. Pierre at UFC 100 in July 2009.

“I feel pretty good. I’m not concerned about ring rust or anything like that,” Alves said. “Once you get hit in the face, everything becomes blank and it’s all instincts after that.”

He also claims not to be worried about Fitch’s wrestling ability, even though Alves was repeatedly taken down by St. Pierre.

“Against (St. Pierre), I was a completely different fighter, and GSP is a different fighter than Fitch,” Alves said. “I wasn’t as prepared as I am for this fight. I’m not overlooking him, but I just know that everything Fitch throws at me, I’ll be ready for him.”

Fitch controlled Alves in the first meeting. Though he thinks Alves has improved, Fitch still views him as a fighter who just wants to knock out opponents.

“When a fighter comes into a fight with only one mindset, it makes them much easier to beat because you know exactly what they’re doing and where they’re going and how they plan on going about it,” Fitch said. “You don’t have to worry about takedown defense or submission defense because they’re not worried about that. All they’re trying to do is get to their feet and knock you out.”

Fitch relishes the second chance to beat Alves and hopes nothing prevents the fight from taking place.

Alves has had trouble making weight, and there is talk he could be struggling to cut weight again.

“I’m just saying it better not happen,” Fitch said. “We’re professionals. We agreed to a weight. Make the weight.”

Contact reporter Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com or 702-224-5509.