Warlley
Alves
believes his missteps have made him a better mixed
martial artist.
“The Ultimate Fighter Brazil” Season 3 winner will climb back into
the Octagon for the first time in nearly 19 months when he
confronts
Nicolas
Dalby as part of the
UFC
283 undercard on Saturday at Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro.
Alves started his career with 10 consecutive victories, but losses
in five of his past nine bouts forced him to look in the
mirror.
“I realized I had made incorrect choices in my life and had been
listening to the wrong people,” he told Sherdog.com. “I ended up
not performing at the level I’d expected, but everything happens
for a reason. This was a period in which I had to mature as an
athlete and as a man. Several things had to happen so I could
better understand the world. Those losses made me admit,
reluctantly, that I had much to learn. We learn from wins and
losses; and sometimes, we don’t listen to the right advice and end
up paying the price. I’m currently paying for my bad choices.”
Alves points to his most recent outing—a second-round knockout loss
to
Jeremiah
Wells at UFC Fight Night 190 on June 26, 2021—as evidence.
Wells served as a short-notice replacement for two-time
M-1 Global
champion
Ramazan
Emeev and entered the cage as a significant underdog, then
proceeded to author the upset.
“I didn’t know much about him,” Alves said. “When I felt he was
gassing out after the first round, I tried to rush things. I made a
technical error and got countered. It was the first time I’ve been
knocked out, [and] I was out.”
Alves has remained on the sidelines ever since, having suffered a
torn ACL while training for a clash with
Jack
Della Maddalena at UFC 270 in January 2022. He took every
precaution to ensure a return to full strength went according to
plan.
“I always look for ways to evolve,” Alves said. “My main focus has
been the recovery of my knee. It takes nine months to rehab. During
those nine months, I did light training to protect my knee. Now
we’re intensifying things so I can be at full force on fight
night.”
Dalby does not figure to serve as a soft landing for the Brazilian.
The former
Cage Warriors Fighting Championship titleholder has lost just
once since 2018, having gone 6-1 with two no contests across his
past nine appearances. Dalby last competed at UFC Fight Night 208,
where he was awarded a unanimous decision over
Claudio
Silva on July 23.
“Fighting Nicolas will be great,” Alves said. “He’s experienced and
very tough. He’s been around the block. He’s paved his road very
well. I’m ready. It will be a striking clash. Neither one of us
prefers to grapple. It’s what the fans want to see. They want to
see us bang it out. It’s going to be great.”
The assignment also marks Alves’ return to his native Brazil for
the first time since 2019. He actually lives within walking
distance—roughly a quarter mile—of the arena.
“It’s always great to have fans rooting for you, but in the end,
once the cage door closes, it’s just the two of us,” Alves said.
“You have to rely on your preparation, training, studies and
dedication. The arena is 400 meters from my home. I’m very happy to
be fighting in my backyard—literally.”