UFC 130 Fight Card: When Will the Weight Cut Become Too Much for Thiago Alves?

After all the conditioning, sparring and media frenzy that fighters have to endure prior to each bout, there remains one final obstacle before they enter the Octagon—making weight.

Some fighters go on insane diets along with hours in the sauna, while others seem to naturally make the weight, a la the Frankie Edgars of the world.

No fighter has had more trouble shedding the pounds than UFC welterweight Thiago Alves.

Alves has been cited for weight-related violations three times in his career.  In 2006, Alves tested positive for a banned diuretic, a substance that aids in the weight-cutting process, when he faced Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt Tony DeSouza at UFC 66.

Two years later, Alves failed to make weight for his bout with Matt Hughes, missing the 170-lb. mark by four lbs.!

His latest trouble occurred last August, failing to shed the final pound-and-a-half for his rematch with Jon Fitch.  This mishap proved costly for Alves, who was fined 20 percent of his fight purse.

Due to this recurring issue with making the weight, Alves enlisted the help of nutritionist Mike Dolce, a former fighter and powerlifter who has helped the likes of Michael Bisbing and Rampage Jackson lose upwards of 40 lbs. prior to their bouts.

Dolce's focus on natural and whole foods is what got Alves to make the weight for his fight against John Howard at UFC 124, where Alves put on a striking clinic en route to a unanimous decision victory.

But can he do it again? 

In an interview with Luke Thomas at SBNation.com, Alves stated that he weighed 192 lbs. with only a week left before his bout with Rick Story.  That means, in a week, he had to cut 22 lbs.!

Now shedding that amount of weight isn't uncommon for bigger athletes like Alves, but with the history he has, this revelation will certainly put some fans on edge.

As we've seen with Jake Shields and other athletes who scramble to cut the pounds, the toll it takes on the body and its effect on their performance is immense.

If Alves can come out today and prove that he can make the weight no problem, then detractors will certainly cease calling for him to move to middleweight.

But if he has trouble with the cut or shows fatigue from the weight loss during the fight, then maybe the cut is too much for the young Brazilian.