UFC 117 Aftermath: Is Forcing Thiago Alves to Middleweight Too Harsh?

In the post-fight press conference following UFC 117, UFC president Dana White said in no uncertain terms that he wants Thiago Alves to move up to 185 pounds after having missed weight in two of his past four Octagon appearances.

While White wouldn't say that the weight class move would be mandated, the UFC brass has clearly had enough of Alves's issues in making weight.

Making weight is serious business in MMA, and is especially important for contenders like Alves, because of the potentially disastrous consequences of a fighter missing weight for a title fight, or title elimination match, such as the one Alves lost on Saturday.

Alves has had a long history of weight cutting problems that started after his fight with Tony DeSouza, when Alves tested positive for spironolactone, a diuretic he says he used to help cut weight, although the drug may also be used to mask the use of steroids.

The weight cutting problem reared its ugly head again in 2008 when Alves missed weight by three pounds before his fight with Matt Hughes. This time, Alves said that he missed weight because an ankle injury prevented him from doing the exercise required to cut weight.

It seems like last week's half-pound error will be the third and final strike against Alves.

At this point in time, the UFC's management would be well within its rights to force Alves to fight at 185 pounds where making weight should not be an issue.

That said, many people probably feel like this step is too harsh, considering that Alves was only a one half of a pound from the limit.

When Alves entered the UFC he was a large welterweight. During his UFC tenure, he has become a huge welterweight, cutting down from nearly 200 pounds to reach the 170-pound limit.

That said, he is only 5'9" and if he is forced to go to middleweight, he'll be one of the shortest fighters in the division.

While Alves could certainly still be competitive in the division, he's going to completely lose the size advantage that he has enjoyed at welterweight, and will probably struggle in overcoming the range of some of the taller fighters in the division.

Alves could theoretically go from being the consensus No. 3 welterweight to possibly not even being in contention at middleweight.

That could end up being a huge blow to Alves's UFC future.

Despite the potentially severe consequences for Alves, I'm in favor of the UFC forcing the weight class change.

At any point in time over the last three years, Alves could have altered his workouts and diet in order to make the weight cut easier. As Joe Rogan pointed out last night, Alves doesn't need his pectoral muscles to be so gigantic to be functional in MMA.

Alves could have taken such steps, but he didn't, and this time it's his third strike.

Clearly, despite the threat of fines and penalties, Alves didn't take making weight seriously enough.

More than just punishing Alves, forcing him to move up in weight class should send a message to everybody else in the UFC about the importance of making weight.

When a 10 or 20 percent fine isn't incentive enough, the threat of a forced weight class move might just be what the UFC needs to make its fighters take weight cutting seriously.

Yes, I'm advocating that the UFC make an example of Alves in order to improve the sport. It may sound harsh, but at this point Alves has nobody to blame but himself.