Why Thiago Alves Pulled Out of UFC Pittsburgh
Family comes first for Thiago Alves, and that is the reason behind the fighter pulling out of his then-upcoming fight against Mike Perry at UFC Pittsburgh, on the 16th of September this year. He removed himself from the running just days before the fight was supposed to occur thanks to the threat of hurricane Irma. Alves got replaced by Alex Reyes, and Reyes managed to last 79 seconds against Mike Platinum Perry, losing by knockout.
Alves Stands by His Decision
Not only did Alves make by the decision to stay home with his family instead of going to the fight, he also released a statement that explained why he stood by his decision not to take the trip.
The First Hurricane as a Husband and Father
Alves’ statement read that this was his first hurricane that had occurred since he had gotten married and become a dad, and explained that the safety of his family was his duty, and was thus paramount, a job to be done before all others.
He Tried to Get Through
Alves’ statement further related that he had, in fact, made every possible attempt to get to Pittsburgh, following each of the suggestions supplied by the UFC Travel Team. The only one that he could not follow through with was that of travelling by road, along with his wife and 13-month old son when the entire state was being evacuated.
The statement said that Alves’ flights got cancelled, from the Friday morning all through until Tuesday, around 11pm. And after he had spent six hours at the airport without any idea when the next flight would be available, along with dealing with the lack of electricity, having to sleep alongside his family in the gym, and dealing with the fact that his dog had passed away from heat exhaustion, he made the decision to stay.
Alves Remains Respectful of his Family, Team, Sport and Fans
The statement further read that he could not in good conscience make an apology, and that the reason for this was that he had too much respect for his sport, his team, his family, and the fans of the MMA to ever go into a fight when he wasn’t 100% prepared. As punters who enjoy the online betting NZ sites offer for the MMA know all too well, Alves and the UFC are on great terms, and they understand and respect his decision.
Alves added that he had been with the company for 12 years now, and had known Sean Selby for a long while, and referenced Shelby again in the statement too, saying that Selby knew what the circumstances were, and knew that he, Alves, would always fight as and when he could, and when he was in the right frame of mind.
He added that he had been in training for 16 weeks, since the fight was originally set to occur in August, and, since he only got paid if he fought, he was suffering too, along with his family because he would not be getting paid. His statement further read that he hoped to be rebooked by December, and then, in signing off, he added that he wished to send his support to everyone who was suffering through the hurricane. He sent thoughts and prayers to people trying to survive it, and ended the message with a Rest in Peace message for his dog, Tanky.