Brown vs Alves announced for UFC on Fox Sports 1

Matt Brown vs. Thiago Alves verbally agreed to for UFC on Fox Sports 1

by John Haigh @JohnBjayHaigh

The event on August 17th in Boston has yet to get a main event but this but this welterweight bout is the first fight added to the card. This is a fight between two fighter on completely different paths in the UFC, one marching toward the top of the division the other fighting to stay in it.

By the time of the fight Alves will have been out of the octagon for nearly 18 months due to having surgery in early 2012 for a torn pectoral muscle, then having to under the knife again for a long standing injury to his left knee.

Alves has not had the best of runs in the octagon of late having lost four of his last six fights, his most recent been a submission lose to Marin Kampmann at UFC on FX 2 in March 2012. With the UFC having way to many contracted fighters on its roster I think this is a must win fight for Alves if he’s to stay a UFC fighter.

Matt Brown comes into the fight on an opposite run to Alves, with a five fight win streak. His last being a fight of the night against the highly touted former Strikeforce fighter Jordan Mein, stopping him by TKO in the second round at UFC on Fox 7.

Its not all being smooth sailing for Brown just two years ago Brown was on the verge of being cut from the UFC himself having lost four of five fights his last being to Seth Baczynski at UFC 139 before his fortunes quickly changed. Surely if he can win this fight and go six in a row he’s got to be considered for a title shot or at least a top contender?

This event will be the first on Fox’s new national sports network, launching on the same day. The UFC is going to be a huge part of the new networks programming.