Thiago Alves took part in his last fight.
Alves headlined BKFC Knucklemania 4 on Saturday night in Los Angeles against Mike Perry. Perry knocked Alves out in 60 seconds with a brutal left hand. After the event, Alves was asked what he would do next.
“I'm going back to retirement,'' Alves said in the post-match press conference. “I had already retired, but I didn't announce it.” [or] I wanted to do one more thing, so anything was fine, but this was it. Unfortunately things didn't go as planned, but I've been fighting professionally since I was 15 years old.I took on this fight [an] So, I've been through a lot and I've put my family through a lot already.
“As a coach, I'm happy to live the life I have, but I have no regrets.''Unfortunately, when you're competing at this level, it's almost impossible to come out on top, but I I’m happy with the man I see in the mirror, and I’ll move on, okay?”
Alves appeared in the BKFC ring for the third and final time on Saturday. The former BKFC 185-pound champion was unable to continue after the knockdown, and the referee ultimately stopped the bout.
Alves reacted to the suspension of the game in the media.
“When I got dropped and got back up, the referee looked at me and said, 'Take a few steps,' and I did. I guess he didn't like what he saw,” Alves explained. “I was planning on going out with a shield, but that wasn't the case today.”
Alves, 40, finishes his professional MMA career with a 23-15 record, including 15-12 in the UFC, which featured a championship bout against Georges St-Pierre at UFC 100. After leaving the UFC, Alves made yet another transition. He took on a coaching role with American Top Team, but notched two wins in the BKFC ring, winning a decision over Julian Lane at BKFC 18 in June 2021 and defeating Ury Diaz to win the BKFC gold medal. .
Now that his career is over, Alves said he has achieved everything he ever wanted and is proud to step away from the competitive side of martial arts.
“I'm just grateful,” Alves said. “I came here when I was 19 years old, with $40 in cash and didn't speak any English. I was just a kid from Brazil with a dream of being one of the best fighters in the world.” Alves said. “I think it did. I became a world champion in one of the most barbaric sports, the worst sports. [in] I'm just grateful that I'm doing bare-knuckle boxing and that I'm able to provide a good living for my family and that I can leave this business in perfect health and, oh, I'm just grateful to be here. . ”
