Welterweight veteran Thiago Alves promises his “best is yet to come” after tough KO loss

Last Sunday, on the undercard of the UFC’s exciting stop in Austin, Texas, former UFC welterweight title challenger Thiago Alves returned to the cage for the first time since April of 2017. Regrettably, this return to action went disastrously, as he was knocked out by his debuting opponent Curtis Millender in the second round.

Despite this tough loss, Alves seems to be in good spirits. On Tuesday, the Brazilian veteran took to Instagram to issue a statement on this defeat, in which he assured his fans that the best is yet to come.

See his statement below:

Definitely not the outcome we worked for, but that’s life and that’s MMA. You gotta always push forward no matter what, and I know that will be the difference in the end. I gotta stay busy to get my fight rhythm back, so I don’t have late starts anymore. Thank you for all the love and support! I hate losing more then I love winning. But I always learn more in defeat, and I will always comeback better and stronger! I am angry but fucking hungry for improvements. I know my best is yet to come, I feel it and I see it! No other way to move but forward, ALWAYS 👊🏽 Much Love Osss 🇧🇷🇧🇷 Não foi o resultado que trabalhamos tão forte para conquistar. Mais a vida é assim e o MMA também. Independente do resultado sempre termos que correr atrás dos nossos sonhos e jamais esmorecer, no final isso vai ser a diferença. Vou ajeitar os meu erros ficar mais ativo na categoria e voltar melhor que antes! Eu sei que o meu melhor estar por vim ainda. E eu vou correr atrás dele! Obrigado a todos pelo o apoio, eu agradeço a Deus todo dia por ter nascido com sangue Brasileiro que não me deixar desistir jamais! Vamos para frente, que a guerra só começou 👊🏽 Ossss

A post shared by Thiago ‘Pitbull’ Alves 🇧🇷🇺🇸 (@thiagoalvesatt) on Feb 20, 2018 at 8:16am PST

“Definitely not the outcome we worked for, but that’s life and that’s MMA,” Alves said. “You gotta always push forward no matter what, and I know that will be the difference in the end. I gotta stay busy to get my fight rhythm back, so I don’t have late starts anymore. Thank you for all the love and support! I hate losing more then I love winning. But I always learn more in defeat, and I will always comeback better and stronger! I am angry but fucking hungry for improvements. I know my best is yet to come, I feel it and I see it! No other way to move but forward, ALWAYS.”

Alves’ loss to Millender was preceded by an exciting win over retiring veteran Patrick Cote. This win, meanwhile, was preceded by back-to-back losses to Jim Miller and Carlos Condit.

What do you think the future holds for Thiago Alves?

This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 2/21/2018.