Alves wants shot at title

Thiago Alves defeated Josh Koscheck at UFC 90 at the Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Ill., Saturday evening by unanimous decision, dominating the American Kickboxing Academy trained welterweight, moving a step closer to a title bout with the winner of Georges St. Pierre and B.J. Penn scheduled for UFC 94 in Las Vegas.

"It's just hard work paid off man. I've been training really hard and working really hard trying to get to this point," Alves told MMAWeekly.com "It's been paying off."

Alves had Koscheck hurt early in the first round as a result of a counter-punch, and had Koscheck in a lot of trouble in the final round. But Koscheck would not be put away. "It was a great fight and I had a lot of fun. Josh was a great opponent," commented the American Top Team fighter. "Hats off to Josh. He's a really tough guy. He took the fight on short notice. He's a true warrior."

Alves is on a roll, knocking out Karo Parisyan, doing the same to long-time, former, UFC welterweight champion Matt Hughes and defeating top five ranked Koscheck in his last three fights.

"I'm ready for the title," Alves stated. "I hope I get a shot at the title next. I'm ready. I can't wait."

Titleholder St. Pierre is expected to rematch UFC lightweight champion Penn early next year for the welterweight crown.

Asked who he'd rather face, St. Pierre or Penn, Alves said, "My opponent has no face. I'll fight the champion. I want to fight against the best. It doesn't matter if it's B.J. Penn or Georges St. Pierre. It doesn't really matter. I just want to fight the best."