The late Mahatma Gandhi once wrote, "Birth and death are not two different states, but they are different aspects of the same state. There is as little reason to deplore the one as there is to be pleased over the other."

When looking back on Thiago Alves (Pictures)' brilliant destruction of former UFC welterweight champion Matt Hughes (Pictures) on Saturday, Gandhi's musing couldn't have been more felicitous, more apropos to the circumstance that enveloped the O2 Arena in London. The second-round technical knockout personified the death of one career and the birth of a new one.

The paths of both fighters were perfectly juxtaposed at the pinnacle of UFC 85; one needing a win to remain a viable championship contender, the other trying to elicit credibility from detractors and cynics.

Alves simply overwhelmed Hughes and eventually scored the dramatic stoppage he so desperately needed in the light of both his slightly dubious TKO victory over Karo Parisyan (Pictures) at UFC Fight Night 13 in April and the weigh-in debacle previous to this weekend's UFC 85. Since being stopped by Jon Fitch (Pictures) almost two years ago at UFC Fight Night 5, Alves has been on a tear, winning six consecutive fights. Wins over capable opponents like John Alessio (Pictures) and Tony DeSouza (Pictures) in 2006 were further magnified by his demolition of Parisyan and Hughes and Alves now finds himself crammed in the logjam at the top of his division. The 24-year-old seems to be hitting his stride and with how well he's performed in recent months, he cemented his status as a fighter who clearly belongs aside the likes of Fitch, Jake Shields (Pictures) and Josh Koscheck (Pictures).

With that said, it's a tad unsettling to witness Alves' failure to meet the contracted weight on Friday. Easily the most important fight of his career up to this point, he missed by four pounds. Was his second round stoppage of Hughes an offspring of a talented fighter not draining himself before he stepped onto the scale? Was the fact that Alves didn't have to lose that much weight merely a catalyst to Hughes' downfall in their encounter?

The answers to those questions will hopefully be answered in Alves' next outing, which should NOT be for the welterweight title. Granted, Alves trounced Hughes, but his begging of UFC president Dana White for a title shot was a bit ridiculous.

Had he made weight, Alves would have been first in line for a crack at the winner of champion Georges St. Pierre (Pictures)'s title defense against Fitch at UFC 87 in August. Now there might only be debate as to who deserves a shot at the crown ahead of him. His next fight should be against someone like Shields or Koscheck or Diego Sanchez (Pictures). Provided he prevails against one of them, only then should he be granted a title shot.

As for Hughes, it is quite obvious that he's not the same fighter that systematically executed the likes of Frank Trigg (Pictures), Hayato Sakurai (Pictures), St. Pierre and BJ Penn. I predicted that he would defeat Alves and that said performance would be his last great triumph inside the Octagon. With how poorly he looked against the younger and more explosive Alves, it looks as if Hughes' last great conquest was against an uninspired Penn, now the UFC's lightweight kingpin, almost two years ago.

Like fellow Miletich-bred former emperor Jens Pulver (Pictures), it's a bit premature to cast Hughes as a shot fighter, but he's clearly not the same world-beater from years past.

Misc. Debris

For fans of Brandon Vera (Pictures), you'll be unhappy to read that I felt his stoppage loss at the hands of Fabricio Werdum (Pictures) on Saturday was justified. Granted, he wasn't being bombarded with clean shots from Werdum, but he was fully mounted and there was no evidence that he was going to be able to escape. Was it a bit premature because he wasn't dazed and the pummeling has been more severe on other fighters? Possibly. But Vera was in a bad position and was doing nothing but trying to not eat as many punches and elbows as possible. Also, Vera shouted in angst about how there was only 15 seconds left in the fight. For everybody griping about the stoppage and the remaining time, you all should know that it's not the referee's job to know how much time is left. His job is to ensure order and safety. The ref did the right thing. ...

How unbelievable was Matt Wiman (Pictures)'s win over Thiago Tavares (Pictures)? I always felt that Wiman was a good fighter with a reservoir of potential, but I didn't see this one coming. Most agreed that Tavares was simply too skilled for Wiman, but I guess we were all wrong. Now it's time to wait and see if his massive knockout of Tavares was a fluke or if Wiman really is this good. ...

In keeping with Marquardt, there absolutely has to be a rematch between him and Leites. The fight was thrilling and since it's under controversy, there should be a rematch. Leites had Marquardt out in the first but his inexperience with ground-and-pound follow-up allowed Marquardt to survive. Marquardt's illegal knee in the second might have altered the entire fight as well. There has to be a second go ‘round between these two. ...

EliteXC seems to be doing the right things, even though I'm not overly fond of the way they are marketing Kevin "Kimbo Slice" Ferguson as a street thug. But he brings in many new eyes to the sport and they landed the awesome CBS deal. That said, I wonder how long it'll take the fledgling money-hemorrhaging organization to actually put some time and effort into their still incomplete and barren official Web site. …

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