Thiago Alves vs. Yoshihiro Akiyama Likely Headed to UFC 149 in Calgary

Two battled tested welterweights are set to square off at UFC 149 as Thiago ‘Pitbull’ Alves is slated to face Yoshihiro Akiyama on the Calgary card.

Sources close to the match-up confirmed the bout with MMAWeekly.com on Tuesday. MMAFighting.com first reported the fight.

Former title challenger Thiago Alves has been looking for consistency in his performances ever since a 2009 loss to Georges St-Pierre with the UFC welterweight belt on the line.

Over his last five fights, Alves has gone 2-3 and most recently suffered a tough defeat to Martin Kampmann in a bout he was winning on the scorecards, until he got caught in a late guillotine choke from his Danish opponent.

Now Alves will look to avoid multiple losses in a row as he faces a welterweight that has to be fighting to keep his job in the UFC.

Yoshihiro Akiyama will enter UFC 149 on the rare four fight losing streak, and almost certainly has to look at his fight against Thiago Alves as ‘win or go home’.

The former 185lb fighter finally dropped down to welterweight for his last bout against Jake Shields at UFC 144 in Japan, but lost a unanimous decision, dropping his record to just 1-4 in the UFC.

Now the former Dream and K-1 fighter desperately needs a win as he faces Alves at UFC 149 in Calgary.

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