Thiago Alves finds himself in a comfortable situation.

The former UFC title challenger and longtime welterweight contender fought out his contract with the promotion in December and now is exploring the market as a free agent.

Alves, who lost to Tim Means by submission at UFC on ESPN 7, said he has no rush to get back in the cage. In fact, if things don’t align for him, the Brazilian fighter is willing to walk away from the sport.

Whether or not Alves (28-15 MMA, 15-12 UFC) continues his storied career depends on one simple, but significant factor.

“Money,” Alves told MMA Junkie. “The money has to be right. I was making pretty good money with the UFC. I know what the media has put out there, but it’s very inaccurate. But I don’t like to go out there and be like, ‘Oh, you guys have to make this one right,’ because it doesn’t matter what they know and what they don’t know.

“I’ve been making really good money with the UFC. I’ve been making six figures with the UFC since 2008. So financially, I don’t need to fight anymore. I want to fight because I love what I do. I just turned 36 right now, and in my last fight I got caught. But I do feel like I’ve still got a lot of fight left in me.”

A big part of Alves’ lack of urgency to sign with a promotion and continue his MMA career are the different passions and avenues he has to make money outside of fighting.

“I’m excited right now to see what’s the next chapter,” Alves said. “I still have a lot of fight left in me. But if the money doesn’t make sense, then I’m happy to walk away. I have a lot of stuff in place already.

“I’m one of the coaches at American Top Team, and (I’m) opening my own American Top Team gym with Wilson Gouveia, who was my former teammate since I got here 18 years ago. I’m also in the process of getting hired in law enforcement, which has been my first passion before MMA.

“So if the money doesn’t make sense, I’ll be more than happy to focus on the next stage of my life and get those things in place. So that’s where I’m at right now. I don’t need to fight. I don’t have to fight. I’d like to fight, but only if the money makes sense. It needs to get me excited to go train, do a training camp and all that stuff. So that’s pretty much where I am right now.”

Alves expects to have an answer on his fighting career sometime in the near future and said he’s in talks with Bellator and the PFL.

“By the end of this month, I will know if I will go in the police academy or if I’m going to fight again,” Alves said. “I’m in negotiations with PFL, I’m in negotiations with Bellator, and I’m just waiting to see final numbers. If the final numbers make sense, then I’ll compete this year. If not, I’lll move on to the next chapter.

“If I don’t hear something that makes me excited by the end of the month, I’m just going to turn to the next chapter and do what I do. I don’t have to fight if the money doesn’t make sense, and that’s a beautiful thing. I know many guys that reach the point where I’m at and they have to fight because they don’t have any other alternative.”

If Alves’ MMA career is over, he has plenty on his resume to leave the sport with his head held high.

Alves fought in the UFC for 14 years. He challenged one of the greatest fighters of all time, Georges St-Pierre, for the welterweight title at UFC 100. He earned four “Performance of the Night” bonuses, and defeated many of the best fighters of his era like former champion Matt Hughes, Josh Koscheck, Patrick Cote, Karo Parisyan and Chris Lytle.

Looking back, Alves is astonished and grateful for everything he was able to achieve.

“I left Brazil at 19 to start a fighting career and I accomplished way more than I ever dreamed of,” Alves said. “I never imagined I’d be speaking English with you and living in America in a beautiful house, being married, and this and that. So I’ve been living my dream since I was 19.

“I started fighting muay Thai in Brazil when I was 15, and my first MMA fight was at 17. It was PRIDE FC rules – bare knuckles, all that. And when it comes to the thrill of being a fighter of the things that you have to live through, I’ve got 10 surgeries under my belt. So I’m happy with that. I’m fulfilled with that.

“The only thing I wasn’t able to accomplish was become a champion. But when I was fighting, I was competing against the greatest of all time – Georges St-Pierre. So it was hard to beat that guy. But this was fun. I’ve been a top contender for a long time. I have a lot of knockouts under my belt, and I think I left my mark in MMA. So if this is it, I’m happy with it. This is just one-third of my life – hopefully one-fourth if I grow old enough. There’s a lot more to life outside of MMA, but I’m excited I was able to do what I did and lived the life that I’ve lived so far.”