MMA Fan Starts in the Seats, Ends in the Cage as a Champion

Just when you think sports can no longer warm your heart, along comes a story like this.

Luis Felipe Alvim was crestfallen. All he wanted to do was sell enough brownies to buy tickets so he and his girlfriend could attend Juiz de Fora Fight 18 in Brazil. 

By the time he got there, though, nobody was around to purchase his homemade desserts, as most people had already gone into the event. But Alvim was undaunted. He bought the tickets with bill money instead.

In hindsight, it was the best decision he ever made.

According to an account from Guilherme Cruz of MMA Fighting, Alvim went backstage to say hello to his coach and some friends who were fighting that night. That's where he learned that some last-minute fighter changes had left a vacancy on the card. Alvim was skilled in muay thai and jiu-jitsu, but he had never competed in MMA before, as a professional or an amateur. 

That was about to change. It just so happened Alvim was close enough to the 170-pound welterweight limit to compete. 

Oh, and it happened to be the main event of the evening, for a title.

Alvim survived an early scare to shock his opponent, Carlos Eduardo Rufino, by triangle choke, becoming the new welterweight champion.

And to top it all off, Alvim proposed to his girlfriend afterward in the cage. She said yes.