UFC Fight Night 108 results: Thales Leites' kicks prove too much in unanimous win over Sam Alvey

NASHVILLE – From the first kick he threw, one-time middleweight title challenger Thales Leites appeared to hobble Sam Alvey.

Alvey (30-9 MMA, 7-4 UFC) toughed it out over three rounds, but his lack of mobility cost him against Leites (27-7 MMA, 12-6 UFC), who out-worked him to pitch a shutout on the judges’ scorecards.

The middleweight bout closed out the preliminary card of today’s UFC Fight Night 108 event at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn. It aired on FS2 following additional prelims on UFC Fight Pass and ahead of a main card on FS1.

Leites took home 30-27 scores for 15 minutes of fighting. But his most meaningful work came with an inside leg kick that slammed into Alvey’s knee, nearly sweeping him off his feet. Alvey tried his best to act like he wasn’t wounded, but his body language indicated otherwise. In classic fashion, Leites looked for a highlight-reel knockout by using the threat of low kicks to set up high ones. Unfortunately for him, they were blocked.

With one round in his opponent’s corner, Alvey tried to get on his toes and move forward. And a few times, he managed to catch Leites with his fists, placing a couple of hard punches. Mostly, though, he watched as Leites played hit and run, moving out of range before he could fire back.

Advised of an imminent loss, Alvey spent the first part of the third round in a futile chase of Leites, who had no incentive to stray from his strategy. An inadvertent eye-poke gave Alvey enough of a breather to give one last go, and he landed a two-punch combination that found its target. The shots simply weren’t enough to turn the tide.

Leites may not have wowed the crowd with his tactical approach, but he emerges with a win after a 1-3 skid. Alvey goes out on a loss after four straight wins in the octagon.

Up-to-the-minute UFC Fight Night 108 results include:

• Thales Leites def. Sam Alvey via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Brandon Moreno def. Dustin ortiz via technical submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 4:06
• Scott Holtzman def. Michael McBride via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26)
• Danielle Taylor def. Jessica Penne via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Alexis Davis def. Cindy Dandois via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Bryan Barberena def. Joe Proctor via TKO (knees, punches) – Round 1, 3:30
• Hector Sandoval def. Matt Schnell via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 4:24

For complete coverage UFC Fight Night 108, check out the UFC Events section of the site.

(MMAjunkie’s John Morgan and Dann Stupp contributed to this report on site in Nashville.)