Thiago Alves was set to make his lightweight division debut at UFC 205, but the fighter missed weight and the bout was turned to catchweight affair.
Following the failed weight cut, the fighter will be returning to welterweight and will never be attempt to compete lightweight.
"It's not worth it," Alves said to MMA Fighting. "I'll make the same money to cut 15 pounds more. I don’t regret it because it was something I thought I could do. I tried, honestly, but I couldn’t. At least I tried with everything I had. The good side of it is that now I’m lighter than I was before, and I have less weight to cut. I can make 170 pounds in a week now. The UFC 205 experience changed me a lot," he continued. "I fixed everything I had to fix, removed some people that were pulling me back, and I have nothing to worry about now. My focus is to be the best now. I’m thrilled to be a father now, having fun everyday, and getting ready for this fight."
Alves wound up losing that fight against Jim Miller at UFC 205 by unanimous decision. Despite the failed attempt at lightweight, it was a learning process.
"I don’t regret anything because now I’m on this mental and emotional state," Alves said. "I’m excited to compete. I’m a veteran, but I feel like a kid who just entered the UFC now. I'm thrilled, and I don’t worry about what’s in the past. The last fight doesn’t count that much because a lot of sh*t happened that week and I couldn't fight. I fought with 20 percent of my capacity, completely dehydrated. And my last fight at 170 was against (Carlos) Condit, a title eliminator bout. I won the first round and got caught in the second. That can happen to anyone.”
UFC 210 takes place on Saturday, April 8 from the KeyBank Center in Buffalo, New York with Daniel Cormier and Anthony Johnson headlining. Fightful is providing live coverage of the event, with a post-show podcast to follow.
