by philphan » Wed Apr 07, 2021 1:34 pm
Ex-UFC champs Eddie Alvarez, Demetrious Johnson set to grow ONE's U.S. fanbasehttps://www.yahoo.com/sports/ex-ufc-cha ... 39526.htmlEddie Alvarez is known as “The Underground King,” which is very appropriate but may not be the best nickname. When he faces Iuri Lapicus on Wednesday (10 p.m. ET, TNT) in Singapore, it will be the fifth different country he’s fought at in his last five fights.
In his career, the 37-year-old Alvarez, who has held lightweight titles in the UFC and Bellator, has fought in seven different countries in 12 different organizations.
He’s one of the fighters that the Asia-based ONE Championship is banking on to help it gain a foothold in the U.S.
He’ll be in the co-main event Wednesday as ex-UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson challenges Adriano Moraes for the ONE bantamweight title in the main event.
MMA is a worldwide sport, and Alvarez is one of the fighters who is willing to seek out challenges wherever they lie.
“We can all get fixated on one promotion and fighters from a handful of countries, but there are great fighters everywhere,” Alvarez told Yahoo Sports. “Fans don’t always understand that because they’re just fed one source of information.”
Alvarez, who has wins over Justin Gaethje, Rafael dos Anjos, Michael Chandler, Anthony Pettis, Shinya Aoki, Gilbert Melendez, Patricky Freire and Tatsuya Kawajiri in his legendary career, said anyone who believes he’s been given an easy bout for ONE’s debut on TNT is mistaken.
Alvarez is a -250 favorite at BetMGM, while Lapicus is +200.
“He’s a phenomenal athlete, just a big, strong guy,” Alvarez said. “He’s from a judo background. But he trains at arguably one of the best striking schools in the world at Giorgio Petrosyan’s. I’m looking for a well-rounded guy, a big, strong athlete who has the ability to get the job done. But not on the night me and him fight. I have an experience edge and I have multiple things I can go to, not just one or two.”
Alvarez hasn’t fought since Aug. 2, 2019, because of injuries and the pandemic, but he’s proven he can deal with layoffs.
He’s 37 now and has been in a number of memorable battles, and so in a way, the time off has done him well.
“Every time in my career when I’ve had to take a long period of time off, and there were two other times before this one where I took more than a year off, both times I came back very strong,” Alvarez said. “It was a good thing. It was a well-needed rest. I never try to resist what the fight gods have in store for me. Whatever happens, there is nothing we can do about it, so [the pandemic and the injuries] that was the hand we were dealt. I’m ready.”
