UFC Fight Night 108's Thales Leites has been studying 'tough' Alvey for a while: 'He is like a rattlesnake'

If anyone can attest to the rollercoaster nature of an MMA career, it’s UFC middleweight Thales Leites.

At 35, Leites has seen his fair share of highs and lows. The first big high came in 2009 when, after putting together a five-fight octagon streak, he emerged as the challenger to Anderson Silva’s belt. That, we now know, didn’t work out so well, and Leites lost a clear decision in a highly criticized UFC 97 affair. It only took one more loss, to Alessio Sakara, for Leites to see his UFC run terminated.

The Brazilian grappler, however, soon started to rebuild. And, from the end of 2009 through 2012, he put together a 6-1 record that granted him re-entry in the octagon. A much more well-rounded fighter this time, he didn’t waste it, going on a five-fight streak that included a surprising knockout of Francis Carmont and a submission of heavy-handed Tim Boetsch.

Leites was once again on the verge of contention when a split call to Michael Bisping snapped his streak. Next, came Gegard Mousasi, who dominated Leites amidst his own resurrection.

To some, the skid may have looked like a heartbreaking blow. But for the battle-scarred Leites, it was part of the game.

“That’s life,” Leites told MMAjunkie this past October. “Especially when you’re a professional in the biggest promotion in the world, against the best fighters. Staying on a win streak is great, but things narrow down once you get into the top 15 or top 10, and you find yourself against the best of the best in the world.

“Fights get harder against tougher and better-ranked professionals. It’s difficult to keep up a win streak. I try to take lessons from it all. I seek to learn from what I did wrong, and build on those things I did right. The work goes on.”

Leites went on to rebound with a submission over Chris Camozzi at UFC Fight Night 92, only to land on the bad side of the scorecards in a UFC Fight Night 100 battle with Krzysztof Jotko.

Once again, Leites kept his head up.

“I truly lost my last fight,” Leites told MMAjunkie more recently. “I didn’t fight to my full potential. Krzysztof Jotko did a great job. He deserves full credit. On my side, I trained hard, but I didn’t do nearly 50 percent of what I was prepared to do. But there’s no time machine.

“No sense in crying over spilled milk. Now, I’m looking forward to another win, by knockout or submission.”

That chance will come this Saturday, at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena, where Leites (26-7 MMA, 11-6 UFC) meets Sam Alvey (30-8 MMA, 7-3 UFC) in the final bout of UFC Fight Night 108’s FS2-televised preliminary card.

Ranked No. 14 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA middleweight rankings, Leites has in the unranked Alvey an on-the-rise fighter coming off a solid four-fight streak. Other than his charisma, Alvey has become notorious for keeping a busy octagon schedule that included five fights in seven months.

And, as someone who’d already been paying attention, Leites may end up benefitting from the vast study material that Alvey provides.

“Sam Alvey is tough,” Leites said. “He is like a rattlesnake. He has very heavy hands and a lot of faith in his chin. He keeps moving forward. He’s dangerous. I’ve analyzed him already. I’ve been analyzing him for some time as a possible opponent. I’ve been paying attention to his behavior inside the octagon.

“He has many weapons. But we’ve been putting together a strategy by watching his fights, even those before the UFC, so I can be victorious again.”

For more on UFC Fight Night 108, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.