Thiago Alves says botched lightweight try 'was hell,' made him a bad husband and father

BUFFALO, N.Y. – Longtime welterweight Thiago Alves didn’t like himself very much as he tried to get ready for a lightweight fight. The people around him didn’t much care for him either.

The veteran 170-pounder opted for a move down to lightweight for his most recent fight, and it didn’t go as planned. His limited diet was a drag, and he badly missed weight, ultimately lost a decision to Jim Miller, and then had to look back on his failed experiment.

“It was hell, man,” Alves, who returns Saturday at UFC 210, told MMAjunkie. “It sounded like a good idea a year and a half before it actually happened.”

But not once he got to the end of his camp.

Thiago Alves at UFC 205 official weigh-ins

It’s one reason Alves (21-11 MMA, 13-8 UFC), a former UFC title challenger who fights fellow vet Patrick Cote (23-10 MMA, 10-10 UFC) on UFC 210’s pay-per-view main card at KeyBank Center in Buffalo, N.Y., ultimately scrapped his plans to try it again. Despite weighing 162.6 pounds during UFC 205 weigh-ins and being fined 20 percent of his purse in what became a catchweight fight, Alves was going to try to get down to the 156-pound limit again.

A cooler head ultimately prevailed.

“I was living the lifestyle (of a lightweight) again after the (Miller) fight because I didn’t really see that (experiment) through,” he said. “But I wasn’t able to enjoy anything. … When you have to wake up everyday and jump on the scale, it’s no way to live.”

That was a problem as a husband and father because “I wasn’t enjoying life as I should be.” He was cranky and stressed – unusual feelings for a guy who loves his job. He said he’s happy he went through it – he’s in a “better state of mind” knowing that welterweight is better suited for him – but he ultimately made a decision about lightweight.

“(Expletive) this weight cut,” he decided. “I’m going to have fun and enjoy (my job again at welterweight).”

As UFC 210 approaches and as Alves looks to halt a two-fight skid and get himself back in the 170-pound rankings, he said everyone is benefiting from his decision.

“I’m a way better fighter, husband and fighter as well at 170,” he said. “Absolutely, I’m staying at 170 to make another run.”

For more on UFC 210, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.