Thiago Alves Vs Rick Story: UFC 130 – Inside Track
By Siri Karri
In a continuation of RSR’s UFC 130 predictions, we now look at the hard hitting matchup between welterweights Thiago “Pitbull” Alves and Rick “Horror” Story.
What Thiago Alves brings to the table
If you’ve picked up mixed martial arts only in the past 3 or 4 years, chances are you have either not heard of Thiago Alves or you’re simply not impressed by his fights. That’s because since his decision loss to Georges St-Pierre in the summer of 2009, Alves has only fought twice due to injuries to himself and his opponents and went 1-1. Those who followed Alves since around 2006 however will understand that Thiago Alves is a man to be afraid of.
His striking is the best in the division, tied with the destructive boxing of Nick Diaz. From October 10th, 2006 to October 25th, 2008 Thiago Alves won seven straight fights . . . . 6 of them by knockout. He hit Matt Hughes with a flying knee that dropped him so hard Matt blew his knee out. He stuffed world-class wrestler Josh Koscheck’s takedowns while dropping him repeatedly with kicks and punches. When Thiago Alves is on his game, his opponents are simply muay-thai bags in a practice session.
While he has little in the way of offensive takedowns, his takedown defense is very good and like most mixed martial artists coming out of Brazil, he owns a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. We’ve never gotten to see his ground game however, because most of his opponents who hit the ground are already asleep.
What Rick Story brings to the table
Rick Story is impressive without really being well known. He’s a hard working guy who has never really gotten a big name fight (despite his winning streak) because the UFC hype machine overlooked him . . . until now. Story as a fighter is rather unspectacular; he’s well rounded but doesn’t really have a “wow” factor about him. He has solid striking and a college wrestling pedigree but has stayed off the highlight reels thus far. What makes Story impressive isn’t what he can do, it’s what his opponents can’t.
In his fight of the night performance against Brian Foster, Foster timed Story’s rudimentary stand up in the first round and eventually scored a judo-style throw before attempting a guillotine. Story however, fought off the attempt and stayed on top pounding away at Foster and eventually secured his own choke in the second round. He then repeatedly won fights against far flashier opponents.
He defeated very slick and well-rounded fighter Nick Osipczak by split decision.
He TKO’d BJJ ace Dustin Hazelett in two rounds without getting submitted. See a pattern?
Story may not win pretty, but his opponents have found it very hard to impose their will upon him. The kid is a grinder, and anyone trying to beat him needs to be in for the long haul.
The X Factor
Story’s chances of winning depend on what Thiago Alves shows up in the Octagon.
Will it be the Thiago Alves who repeatedly struggled to cut weight and gassed against Jon Fitch?
Will it be the Thiago Alves who seemed to just want to coast against John Howard?
Or will it be the Thiago Alves who looked unstoppable, dominating UFC legends en route to a championship bout?
If Thiago Alves isn’t on his game, there’s a very small chance that Rick Story can try to out-wrestle and outwork the Pitbull for a decision. It’s a long shot; the only men to ever take down Alves in recent memory are Jon Fitch and Georges St. Pierre whose wrestling is several tiers above Story’s. It’s still a better prospect than standing with Alves though.
Unfortunately for Story the Pitbull seemed to have gotten his “warm up” fight out of the way with John Howard and will be looking to get back into his old groove against Rick Story, unleashing crippling kicks and concussive knees. No offense to the Horror Story, but if Brian Foster can time his stand up game then Thiago Alves definitely will.
Fact: Thiago Alves will knock out Rick Story and take home the “Knockout of the Night” bonus at UFC 130.
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