Thiago Alves Discusses Possible Fight With Jake Ellenberger

Thiago Alves is coming off a very good win over a solid prospect, but he's not going to get much respect for it. That's the way it goes when you beat a fighter that is off most people's radar like Papy Abedi, no matter how good he is. But now that he has that win, he's looking at bigger and better things. When asked by ESPN UK about a possible fight with rising star Jake Ellenberger, Alves was diplomatic:

"That would be a great fight," he said to ESPN. "But like I said, whoever Joe Silva wants me to fight, I'm ready for it.

"I know I'm a few fights away from title contention, so whoever brings me closer - I'm ready."

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Always a chance for Alves to land heavy and end the fight, but I see it going the same way as Alves/Story.

I never cared much for Thiago but I really like his attitude at this point in his career.

Not calling out fighters he thinks will give him the easiest route back to contention is a big plus from me, and the fact that he recognizes he's still a couple wins from contention is another bonus.

If he takes the fight with Ellenberger I will officially be a fan as most fighters would avoid a wrestler after losing 3 of their past 5 by similar styled fighters. He may not ever get to be champ but if he keeps this attitude I'll pay to watch any card he's on.

I luv Thiago but i think Ellenberger would win a dominant UD

Yeah Alves has such a tough time with a wrestler...Guy needs to change camps and prolly go somewhere like AKA..

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Posted by kingsmasher

Yeah Alves has such a tough time with a wrestler...Guy needs to change camps and prolly go somewhere like AKA..

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That would be a horror story for the UFC.

Fitch, Alves and Koscheck all near the top of the division and refusing to fight each other

I think he'd be better off with a team like Power MMA with Aaron Simpson, CB Dolloway and Ryan Bader, plus some of the other guys who left ACS.

Team Alpha Male would probably be a decent fit as well, neither camp has any top WW's.

I hate this idea. Please don't match Ellenberger up with Alves. It's an exciting fight and all but if Alves wins he would fuck up the WW title picture even more and if Ellenberger wins it's a step down from Shields (imo.)

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Posted by FlashyG

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Posted by kingsmasher

Yeah Alves has such a tough time with a wrestler...Guy needs to change camps and prolly go somewhere like AKA..

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That would be a horror story for the UFC.

Fitch, Alves and Koscheck all near the top of the division and refusing to fight each other

I think he'd be better off with a team like Power MMA with Aaron Simpson, CB Dolloway and Ryan Bader, plus some of the other guys who left ACS.

Team Alpha Male would probably be a decent fit as well, neither camp has any top WW's.

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Well I dont mean as a permanent stay at all...but he shoudl consider it...Alha male hes way too big to learn from those guys...Actually Duke Roufus would be a good spot for him with Ben Askren...

Actually if you look at it, Thiago Alves has a pretty good track record against wrestlers.

Jake doesn't have good takedowns, but rather uses his wrestling in reverse to keep the fight standing and throw bombs. I doubt he changes his strategy, considering he never has. I'd bet that Jake stands with Alves, and that Alves dominates the stand-up and shakes off any desperate shoot-in attempts.

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Posted by Pookie

Jake doesn't have good takedowns, but rather uses his wrestling in reverse to keep the fight standing and throw bombs. I doubt he changes his strategy, considering he never has. I'd bet that Jake stands with Alves, and that Alves dominates the stand-up and shakes off any desperate shoot-in attempts.

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Ellenberger Stats

I think you're underselling Ellenberger's wrestling by a lot Pookie.

He lands more takedowns per 15 minute fight than guys like Koscheck, Fitch or Lentz. He also lands them with 74% accuracy, which is more than double Lentz rate and over 20% higher than Koscheck or Fitch.

I've only found 2 guys who can claim to top him in either stat and thats GSP and Velasquez, although Ellenbergers sample size is quite a bit smaller than some of the other guys so his numbers could be slightly inflated.

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Posted by FlashyG

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Posted by Pookie

Jake doesn't have good takedowns, but rather uses his wrestling in reverse to keep the fight standing and throw bombs. I doubt he changes his strategy, considering he never has. I'd bet that Jake stands with Alves, and that Alves dominates the stand-up and shakes off any desperate shoot-in attempts.

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Ellenberger Stats

I think you're underselling Ellenberger's wrestling by a lot Pookie.

He lands more takedowns per 15 minute fight than guys like Koscheck, Fitch or Lentz. He also lands them with 74% accuracy, which is more than double Lentz rate and over 20% higher than Koscheck or Fitch.

I've only found 2 guys who can claim to top him in either stat and thats GSP and Velasquez, although Ellenbergers sample size is quite a bit smaller than some of the other guys so his numbers could be slightly inflated.

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He's also fighting people with abyssmal takedown defense. If he was fighting people with great takedown defense like Koscheck, Fitch and Gsp have been doing, his % would take a nose dive. Statistics are misleading, without context.
Alves has the best takedown defense out of anyone he's fought in the UFC, by a wide margin.

Would be nice if the fight was on brazil card

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Posted by Pookie

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Posted by FlashyG

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Posted by Pookie

Jake doesn't have good takedowns, but rather uses his wrestling in reverse to keep the fight standing and throw bombs. I doubt he changes his strategy, considering he never has. I'd bet that Jake stands with Alves, and that Alves dominates the stand-up and shakes off any desperate shoot-in attempts.

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Ellenberger Stats

I think you're underselling Ellenberger's wrestling by a lot Pookie.

He lands more takedowns per 15 minute fight than guys like Koscheck, Fitch or Lentz. He also lands them with 74% accuracy, which is more than double Lentz rate and over 20% higher than Koscheck or Fitch.

I've only found 2 guys who can claim to top him in either stat and thats GSP and Velasquez, although Ellenbergers sample size is quite a bit smaller than some of the other guys so his numbers could be slightly inflated.

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He's also fighting people with abyssmal takedown defense. If he was fighting people with great takedown defense like Koscheck, Fitch and Gsp have been doing, his % would take a nose dive. Statistics are misleading, without context.
Alves has the best takedown defense out of anyone he's fought in the UFC, by a wide margin.

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I wholeheartedly agree that Alves has far and away the best takedown defence he's faced, and is likely the best fighter he's faced as well.

I just disagree that his gameplan is to use his wrestling to keep it standing, or that it is usually his gameplan. With the exception of the Shields fight that ended in the first minute he's taken the fight to the ground in every fight he's had in the Octagon.