Dana White’s Contender Series 30 turned out to be a short, but dramatic comeback story for Rafael Alves. The fighter had a rough start to his Tuesday night fight against Alejandro Flories, trying — and initially failing — to land a flashy entrance before the bout started.
Alves entered the Octagon with some fancy flipwork, but wasn’t able to stick the landing. But he didn’t give up, and as soon as he was back on his feet, he tried again and had a more successful attempt. It was a bit cringey, and it certainly seemed like a bad omen for his fight to come, but he didn’t let it get him down.
No one was laughing by the end of the fight. Alves finished the bout early with a second-round guillotine, marking his fifth consecutive win and his third straight fight that he finished early.
After the fight, Alves approached Dana White with a fake contract in a tongue-in-cheek way of saying it was time to sign him to the UFC. And it turns out, his performance was enough to get him what he wanted. Alves got the contract, and it looks like we’ll be seeing more of his Octagon antics in the future.
Alves may have had a rough start to his contract-earning fight, but his story is proof that if you stay focused and keep trying, your smaller failures don’t have to crush your big dreams.
