After building his resume on the regional circuit both in Brazil and the U.S., Alves got the call to the big show in 2005, only to lose his UFC debut to Spencer Fisher. Alves shook off the defeat and proceeded to make a name for himself in the Octagon, going 5-1 in his next six. But it wasn’t until he went through ten minutes of war with Indiana action hero Chris Lytle that the entire MMA world took notice of the Brazilian bomber.
Five months after the Fight of the Night with Lytle, Alves dispatched another contender in Karo Parisyan, but no win was bigger than the one over former world champion and future Hall of Famer Matt Hughes.