MANILA – Brazilian mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter Thiago Alves plans to engage Keith “The Dean of Mean” Jardine into a stand up action when they meet inside the Octagon in UFC 102: Couture vs Nogueira.

The Jardine-Alves light heavyweight match up is one of the co-featured fights of UFC 102 on Saturday (Sunday in Manila).

“He knows that I'm very aggressive with my stand up. If he goes to stand up with me that will be fine,” said the 26-year-old Alves.

Both fighters are looking for a rebound after absorbing separate losses to tough opponents.

Alves was knocked out by now current light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida in UFC 94.

Jardine, on the other hand, lost via unanimous decision to former light heavyweight champion Quinton “Rampage” Jackson in UFC 96.

“I pretty much understand that he's a different fighter,” Alves said referring to “the Dean of Mean”. “But I'm the kind of fighter that's sturdy.”

Jardine, meanwhile, sees a great match up with Alves.

“The match up's great for me, he's a guy who like to brawl, likes to stand up,” said the 33-year-old Albuquerque native.

He said his fight with Alves will be an opportunity for him to show off the improvements in his game.

“I'm improving my wrestling, my jiu-jitsu and my boxing, so it's stepping up to the next level. I'm excited to go and show off a little bit,” said Jardine.

Jardine has an MMA record of 14-6 with one draw while Alves sports a 13-1 win-loss slate.

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