UFC 183 Results: What We Learned from Thiago Alves vs. Jordan Mein

Jordan Mein and Thiago Alves opened up UFC 183, and it was all Mein early.

Mein touched up Alves early and often. He was in and out with a variety of strikes, keeping the Brazilian on the outside. The uppercut was one of his most effective strikes in stunning Alves. Mein was unable to finish, but he took the first round in a big way.

Then in the second round, Alves landed one of his big leg kicks to completely change the fight.

He caught Mein to the body, and the young gun dropped. Alves pounced until Herb Dean pulled him off for a second-round TKO.

What We'll Remember About This Fight

The sound of that fight-ending kick left an impression.

Alves has one of the best leg-kick games in MMA, and he continued to show it on Saturday. Alves didn't even connect on the liver. He just dropped Mein with a brutal body kick that sounded sickening. It shows how powerful body kicks can be when executed perfectly.

What We Learned About Jordan Mein

Mein continues to show a promising game and then falters. That is not to discredit him. He took on a former title contender and top-tier welterweight.

Mein looked fantastic on his feet in the first round. He did everything perfectly to keep Alves on the outside and ineffective in the first five minutes. He just left one small opening, and Alves capitalized in violent fashion.

What We Learned About Thiago Alves

We learned that his balding crown continues to grow. He may need to start to shave his head to hide that in the future. Oh, you want this to be more about fighting?

I was prepared to say we had learned he wasn't an elite welterweight anymore. That's how poorly he looked in the first round. I should have given the veteran the benefit of the doubt as he has been out of the cage for a long time. He made the adjustments, saw the opening and finished the fight.

Alves made an emphatic return to the Octagon. He has a lot of work to do, but he is still a major threat in this division.

What's Next for Mein

Mein is a borderline Top 15 fighter. He entered as the No. 13-ranked contender but will drop out when the next rankings come out. He shouldn't fall too far down the ranks. As such, he should face a good opponent his next time out.

I like a fight with Kenny Robertson. He has looked impressive, and they will challenge each other's weaknesses. It is a great fight that would put the winner in line for a Top 15 matchup later in 2015.

What's Next for Alves

After he beat a Top 15 opponent in Mein, we know he is getting another ranked fighter. I'd love a rematch with Rick Story.

Story has won back-to-back fights, and a bout against Alves would likely send the winner into the Top 10. Their last fight was in 2011 at UFC 130. The scorecards read 29-28 across the board for Story.

The two heavy-handed welterweights make for an exciting matchup stylistically, but more importantly it is a fight that makes sense in the division. You can't get much better matchmaking than pitting these two against each other.