Coach of Thiago Alves blames weight cut for loss to Georges St. Pierre

Eric “El Tigre” Castano, the Muay Thai coach of Thiago Alves, has explained that the severe weight cut is what affected Brazilian star this past weekend when he attempted to capture UFC welterweight gold against Georges St. Pierre.

Speaking to FightHype.com, Castano revealed:

“We felt that the way to beat ‘Rush’ was through counter-punching and boxing…. I wanted him to bait St-Pierre, to strike and then counter-punch. Many times you go there with a plan, but your opponent doesn’t allow you to bring it to fruition, and that’s what happened … Thiago did not show his capability of being explosive. He lost too much weight too fast and lost his explosiveness in the process. That’s why he lost the fight.”

“Thiago can beat St. Pierre…. Thiago is a warrior and a tremendous fighter. He lasted the five rounds and he never quit. He’s extremely strong and that’s why he kept getting up. He does have what it takes to beat Georges. He has to keep his head up and know that there will be more opportunities. He’s still very young and that can work for you — and against you. Against you because you may not have the maturity or the perspective of your entire career and the future; or it can work for you, helping you learn from it, and realize how much better you can be, and how much more time you have … we just have to keep moving forward.”

Alves will now need to get back on the horse and look to climb back up the welterweight ladder following this most recent disappointment inside the octagon. Fans of the Brazilian wrecking machine can expect to see him in action again before the year is out against another top contender.

By Michael Pepper.