UFC Fight Night 67 Results: 4 Fights for Thiago Alves to Take Next

Everything can change in the blink of an eye. It's a tired cliche, but for Thiago Alves Saturday night at UFC Fight Night 67, it was the brutal truth.

After he probably won a competitive—if relatively uneventful—first round against Carlos Condit, Alves caught a sharp elbow on the nose early in round two. Despite the ensuing blood and punishment, Alves hung tough. That toughness carried him to the end of the second round, when a doctor called for the stoppage.

"I felt that I could have kept fighting at least for another round, but congratulations to Condit. He did a really good job," Alves told broadcaster Jon Anik through a translator in the cage after the fight. "The doctor stopped the fight, so I have to respect that."

Alves has always been a respectful competitor and an entertaining fighter to watch. After missing more than two years of action with injuries, he's now fought three times in the past 14 months, winning twice before losing to Condit. There are interesting possible opponents for the American Top Team welterweight moving forward. Here are four of those possibilities.

Ryan LaFlare

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Ryan LaFlare was undefeated until March, when Demian Maia controlled him on the mat for a decision loss.

But the New York native is still a fighter to watch, posing a full complement of tools predicated on wrestling.

LaFlare has, however, historically struggled to earn the finish (no stoppages in five career UFC contests, for example). Maybe Alves and his 12 career knockouts could help him with that.

Mike Pyle

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Here's a fun little undercard scrap. These are two grizzled veterans who could really use a nice win right about now.

Mike Pyle is slightly more grizzled than Alves, what with 39 years of life and 38 professional contests under his belt. Still, he poses a threat to middle-of-the-road fighters, which—let's be honest here—Alves is at this point.

Pyle has lost two straight, so he would be fighting for his UFC life in his next bout. That could be just the thing to galvanize his unorthodox submission grappling and kickboxing game, and it could give a more traditional fighter like Alves the fits. 

Tarec Saffiedine

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Like Alves, Tarec Saffiedine is coming off a loss. Like Alves, Saffiedine's offense all flows from his kicks, with the leg kick being a favorite.

Both men also have been hampered by multiple injuries during their careers. Maybe the winner of this fight will be the one who can actually make it to the cage. Oh, Scott. You so crazy.

Tim Means/Matt Brown Loser

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Tim Means

These two are scheduled to face off this July at UFC 189. The winner will vault up a few spots in the rankings. The loser could be a perfect next test for Alves.

Matt Brown is a well-known headhunter, using his iron toughness and muay thai to overwhelm opponents. That sounds like a good matchup for the kickboxing Alves.

Means could be an even more intriguing test. With a well-rounded skill set, Means would be a tall order for Alves. Or it could be seen as a good test of how far Alves' game evolved during his extended layoffs from the sport.

Scott Harris covers MMA for Bleacher Report. For more stuff like this, follow Scott on Twitter.