Matt Brown vs. Thiago Alves Agreed to for First UFC on Fox Sports 1 Event
It may not have a main event yet, but the UFC’s first event on the yet to be launched Fox Sports 1 network has its first bout.
UFC welterweights Matt Brown and Thiago Alves have verbally agreed to fight on Aug. 17 at TD Gardens in Boston.
The event is slated to help Fox Sports 1 – Fox’s new national sports network – launch on the same day. The UFC will be part of the network’s cornerstone programming when it takes over the Speed Channel.
Less than two years ago, Brown (17-11) was on the verge of receiving a pink slip. Coming off of a loss to Seth Baczynski at UFC 139, he had lost four of five bouts. But his fortunes turned quickly after that fight.
Brown has since gone on to win five consecutive fights, including four in 2012.
He most recently finished highly touted Strikeforce transfer Jordan Mein, stopping him via TKO in the second round of their UFC on Fox 7 Fight of the Night performance.
Alves (19-9), however, is in a much different situation than Brown. He has lost four of his last six fights, but hasn’t fought for the past 14 months due to a series of injuries.
Alves had to have surgery for a torn pectoral muscle in early 2012. Before he could get back to the Octagon, however, his body required further repairs.
“I had to do my PCL and my ACL on my left knee,” Alves told MMAWeekly.com.
His knee had bothered him since 2009, but it wasn’t until trying to return from the pectoral injury that he aggravated the knee enough to finally opt for surgery.
The fight with Brown will be Alves’ first since a submission loss to Martin Kampmann at UFC on FX 2 in March of 2012.
