Four years have passed since Jon Fitch and Thiago Alves fought at Ultimate Fight Night 5.

Fitch was the better man that night, stopping Alves with a second round TKO victory. It was just one cobblestone on the road known as Fitch’s 16-fight win streak, which spanned five years.

But that was a long time ago, and both have evolved into elite welterweights and a plenty has changed, including the fight’s positioning on the card.

“We accumulated a lot of wins,” Fitch (22-3 1 NC) said. “The first time we fought, it was a dark match on a (UFC) Fight Night. Most people didn’t get to see unless they saw on UFC On Demand or bought the DVD.

“It’s a long time and now it’s co-main event here in Oakland.”

The 2006 bout between the two was also the last time Fitch won a fight by KO or TKO. Fitch caught Alves with an upkick and followed it up with punches to finish the bout.
Since then, Fitch has won a pair of fights by submission and seven by decision — including his last four.

The lack of finishes have brought some criticism who call Fitch’s grinding style boring. Fitch isn’t phased, and said winning the fight is exciting and the way it is done is irrelevant.

“Being aggressive and putting a beating on your opponent is exciting,” he said. “You don’t complain about Colts winning 14-3. As long as they won and didn’t screw up. People are happy.”

Welterweight kingpin Georges St-Pierre has also drawn comments from fans similar to Fitch. Some say the fighters use their wrestling too much and don’t try and make the fight a memorable slugfest ala Leonard Garcia and Chan Sung Jung.

Fitch praised St-Pierre for his fight against Dan Hardy, calling it the “pinnacle of what you’re supposed to do.”

“It was a great display and top control,” Fitch said. “Everything was flawless and seamless. … It’s like saying Michael Jordan sucked because he scored 30 points, but only 10 points were slam dunks. It’s silly to me.”

And if anyone can bring the fight out of Fitch, it’s Alves.

Known for his aggressive muay thai, Alves (16-6) went on a seven-fight win streak of his own following the first fight. During his streak, Alves knocked out opponents in five of the seven bouts.

But his string of victories, like Fitch’s, came to an end at the hands of St-Pierre at UFC 100, setting up for their rematch.

The two were originally going to fight UFC 107, but a knee injury forced Alves off the card. The bout was rescheduled for UFC 111, and everything looked good until an arteriovenous malformation was found in Alves’ brain during a pre-fight CAT scan, resulted in the bout being scrapped.

“People were thinking he’ll never fight again,” Fitch said. “I was definitely disappointed and went out to New Jersey and family and friends and the crowd ready to see me fight.”

Fitch requested UFC president Dana White and UFC matchmaker Joe Silva to find him an opponent — at any weight class — and luckily Ben Saunders stepped in and Fitch was able to fight.

“ We were working out in the same training room before the fight,” Fitch said. “It’s pretty crazy. We go from that getting to know each other, and now we’re fighting.”

The fight is important in determining a No. 1 contender for the UFC welterweight title, but there is a small wrench in the plans.

If Fitch defeats Alves and his teammate Josh Koscheck defeats St-Pierre for the strap, Fitch has already pledged to move up to middleweight to avoid fighting his teammate and friend.

Fitch remained steadfast on the decision and continues to refuse to fight his teammates.
“It’s not a position we’re going to waiver on at all,” he said. “ We’re not boxing. We’re not pro wrestling.”