UFC 124 Results and Reaction: Thiago Alves vs. John Howard

In a card that saw Georges St-Pierre dominate Josh Koscheck in the main event, there were plenty of other noteworthy matchups that preceded that fight. 

One of which saw welterweights Thiago Alves (18-7, 11 KOs) and John Howard (14-6, 5 KOs) square off.  Alves really needed this one after a two-fight skid that saw him get owned in consecutive fights with Georges St-Pierre and Jon Fitch. 

Additionally, it did not help his reputation since he did not make weight in the August fight against Fitch.

Howard, who has been itching for a big fight for quite some time, is coming off of a TKO loss to Jake Ellenberger after the doctor stopped the fight in the middle of the third round.

Both fighters really needed a win to avoid being labeled as a gatekeeper and begin climbing the ladder back into welterweight title contention.

Alves answered the call of duty and simply overwhelmed a smaller and less experienced Howard.

The Brazilian flashed his Muay Thai skills routinely in this one, slowing Howard down with leg kicks throughout the fight. 

The Pitbull also did his homework for this one.  He knew Howard liked to work a wrestling based offense on his feet, so Alves came prepared and uncharacteristically answered with takedowns of his own in the first and second rounds.

Alves had a comfortable lead on the score cards heading into the third, but further solidified his victory by dropping Howard with a right hand in the middle of the round.

While it does not look like Howard will be looking for a job elsewhere anytime soon, do not expect him to be involved in a high profile fight for quite some time either. 

Alves has the look of a guy who will never be less than a top-five contender in the welterweight division, but is still a ways off from being a champion.

At this point, it would be easy to argue that it does not matter who the number one contender is in the welterweight division anymore, since Georges St-Pierre looks flat-out unstoppable. 

Nevertheless, this was a big win for Alves, who looked like he has made some big strides since his last fight.