"I told Felipe Silva I'd fight, that I'd put on a show, but a new fight was already booked," Alvim told the website.
"Forty minutes before the main event, this guy chickened out and they offered me the fight again."
Juiz de Fora Fight promoter Valdir Araujo agreed to hand Alvim, who had never before fought MMA, his debut against Rufino, whose only loss came in July the Jungle Fight 170.
The rookie soon regretted his decision, though.
"He took me down early [in the first round] and landed some heavy shots, and I thought 'oh sh*t, what the f*** am I doing here?'" Alvim said.
He transitioned from an armbar to a triangle choke, and Rufino tapped out.
"When I locked the triangle I thought to myself, 'sh*t, I'll catch him.' I asked God 'please, don't let this round end,' and he tapped."
Predictably the crowd went crazy, but Alvim had one more surprise in store - proposing to Fabiana after receiving his belt.
She said yes.
He told mmafighting.com he was inspired by a trailer for the movie Troy, that the couple had watched earlier that day.
"I showed my girlfriend, my fiance the trailer in which this kid tells Achilles he'd never fight a giant like Achilles was about to do, and Achilles says 'that's why your name won't be remembered.'
"That stuck in my mind."
