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Tag: eddie alvarez

  • Eddie Alvarez Says Everything Tells Him Conor McGregor Can’t Beat Max Holloway — Except One Thing

    Eddie Alvarez says everything he believes about ring rust tells him Conor McGregor has no business beating Max Holloway at UFC 329, but left the door open based on one quality McGregor possesses that most fighters do not.

    Alvarez spoke to MMA Junkie ahead of the July 11 headliner at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, where McGregor returns from a five-year absence. Alvarez compared stepping away from MMA to dropping out of a movie role mid-production.

    “I don’t like people taking off this sport. I think it’s dangerous when you put this sport down. It’s not something you can put down and pick up. It’s too dangerous, and when you’re fighting, I often compare it to someone who is getting ready for a movie role. You have to become the character. And once you’re in character then you go put on a good performance. But it takes a while to become that ruthless dog that you need to be in order to go in there and fight viciously the way we do. And you can’t just put it down and pick it up whenever you want. It takes a while to get into it.”

    Alvarez framed the inactivity gap as the central concern heading into the fight.

    “That comeback needs to be built in with a large amount of training, warm-up fights and things like that in order to build into a massive fight, especially coming back with a guy like Max Holloway. Max has been active. Max is younger. Max has been a lot more active and in the game and didn’t put the game down. You’re going against a guy that has been well fed, and he put the game down. He said, ‘I don’t want to do it right now anymore,’ and now he’s coming back. There’s a lot of guessing about Conor and the Conor we’re going to get to see. We’ll see.”

    Alvarez lost to McGregor by second-round TKO at UFC 205 in November 2016, the last meaningful win of McGregor’s MMA career and the fight that made him a two-division champion. Despite his concerns about the layoff, Alvarez said McGregor has one intangible that could change the equation entirely.

    “Conor has an obsessiveness about him that he can make up for years of not training in a short period of time that other guys don’t have. If anybody is able to come do this, it’ll be him. But it definitely to me would be one of the best comeback stories we’ve ever seen in the sport.”

    Holloway has competed eight times since McGregor last fought, all in main events or title fights.

  • Eddie Alvarez Warns Justin Gaethje On The One Thing He Cannot Do Against Ilia Topuria

    Eddie Alvarez Warns Justin Gaethje On The One Thing He Cannot Do Against Ilia Topuria

    Eddie Alvarez says Justin Gaethje is being underestimated heading into his lightweight unification bout with Ilia Topuria at UFC White House on June 14.

    Gaethje holds the interim UFC Lightweight Championship after defeating Paddy Pimblett by unanimous decision in January. Topuria is a heavy betting favorite for the unification fight, but Alvarez, who faced Gaethje in a memorable clash in 2017, told MMA Junkie the outcome is far from certain.

    “Everyone’s writing him off, but I don’t know, man — this could go either way. I saw a clip recently of Ilia’s brother explaining to Ilia how to beat Justin, his tactics of what he would do against a guy like Justin, and it was scary of how spot-on he was. I was like, sh*t man. During my camp, I was trying to formulate a camp for a guy like Justin and how he steps in the pocket and forces you to fight. How do we beat a guy like this?”

    Alvarez identified one specific area where Gaethje needs to be disciplined.

    “Justin loses his eyes a little bit, and I don’t like that. In the exchanges you’ll see him look and throw this way. He can’t lose his eyes during this match, because what Ilia does, is Ilia keeps such a beautiful posture that his posture is so beautiful that he’s always ready to strike, and he doesn’t lose his eyes ever.”

    Alvarez knocked out Gaethje in the third round of their 2017 fight. Gaethje has gone 8-4 since that loss.

  • Why Was This Former UFC Champion Stunned by Ilia Topuria’s Knockout Against Charles Oliveira? “I Was Shocked!”

    Why Was This Former UFC Champion Stunned by Ilia Topuria’s Knockout Against Charles Oliveira? “I Was Shocked!”

    Ilia Topuria was already soaring in popularity and becoming one of the best fighters in the world — and that was solidified after UFC 317, if it wasn’t already.

    Just a couple of weeks ago at this year’s International Fight Week card, Topuria knocked out Charles Oliveira in the main event to become UFC lightweight champion. This made Topuria the 10th UFC fighter to win championships in more than one weight class, and earned Topuria the top men’s pound-for-pound ranking in the UFC.

    Though Topuria had plenty of supporters in the lead into the fight, Topuria still shocked plenty with the manner in which he dropped Oliveira out cold during the match. Oliveira had not been finished since losing to Paul Felder at UFC 218 — and hadn’t been straight KO’d since losing to Cub Swanson at UFC 152.

    Eddie Alvarez, another former UFC lightweight champion, is one of those who picked Topuria to win but was still shocked in the manner that he did it.

    “Everybody knew Ilia was going to put Charles down,” Alvarez told Helen Yee. “I didn’t know he was going to put him out like that. So yeah, I was shocked.”

    Eddie Alvarez Praises Ilia Topuria’s Knockouts Of Several Big Names In UFC

    Topuria’s victory over Oliveira moved him to 17-0, including a 9-0 record in the Octagon. It was just last year when Topuria won the UFC featherweight championship by knocking out Alexander Volkanovski in violent fashion as well.

    Topuria would retain the championship once before moving up to lightweight, knocking out Max Holloway at UFC 308. It was just the first time Holloway had been knocked out in his professional career. Holloway also had not been finished since getting submitted by Dustin Poirier in their first fight at UFC 143.

    Alvarez says that Topuria’s talent is already displayed in the Octagon performances and his wins and record. The manner in which he’s beaten the names he has, however, brings Topuria to another level of fighter.

    “When you look at the last three guys…Volkanovski, Charles, Max Holloway — these are legends back to back that he’s knocking out,” Alvarez said. “The guy’s special, man. He’s special.”

    Many have clamored for a superfight between Topuria and Islam Makhachev, who vacated the lightweight title to move up to welterweight. A Topuria vs. Makhachev fight could have happened had Belal Muhammad defeated Jack Della Maddalena; however, it remains to be seen if such a fight could still be made if Makhachev beats JDM for the 170-pound gold.

  • Former Opponent Breaks Down What a Dustin Poirier Onslaught Feels Like Trading in the Pocket

    Former Opponent Breaks Down What a Dustin Poirier Onslaught Feels Like Trading in the Pocket

    Dustin Poirier will make his final walk to the Octagon this weekend at UFC 318, in his hometown of New Orleans, challenging an old rival in Max Holloway for the BMF title in the main event.

    This will be the third time Poirier and Holloway will meet in the Octagon, with Poirier having won both of the previous encounters.

    Poirier’s impending retirement has brought about a reflection on his legendary career in the sport and other classic fights and rivalries that Poirier has been a part of. In addition to multiple fights with Holloway in the UFC, Poirier has also been involved in rivalries with the likes of Conor McGregor, Justin Gaethje, and Eddie Alvarez.

    When asked by The Schmo about what keys will lead Poirier to a third victory over Holloway — based on his own experiences in the cage with “The Diamond” — Alvarez says it’s Poirier mixing up flurries with technical striking.

    “Honestly, What Dustin’s great at is putting on sprints,” Alvarez said. “Dustin is calculated. He doesn’t get hit with big shots too, too, too often. And he’s really good at putting on sprints where he’ll pick his shots and he’ll do a 15-second sprint where it’s just a barrage, barrage, barrage.”

    Eddie Alvarez Has High Hopes, Some Concerns As Former Foe Dustin Poirier Prepares For Retirement Fight At UFC 318

    Alvarez and Poirier first did battle at UFC 211, with that fight ending in a no contest due to Alvarez landing illegal knees on a downed Poirier. Poirier would win fights with Anthony Pettis and Gaethje before the two met in a rematch that main evented UFC Calgary in July 2018, with Poirier scoring a second-round TKO.

    Poirier submitted Holloway in February 2012, Holloway’s UFC debut, before defeating him at UFC 236 for the interim UFC lightweight championship.

    When giving a prediction for the fight, Alvarez said he expects another amazing fight between the pair, though admits he has some concerns about Poirier.

    “It’s really hard to lose to someone three times in a row. Max is a champion in his own right,” Alvarez said. “I just want to see a good fight. Both times they fought, they were great fights.

    “Personally, I don’t like when a guy says ‘I’m done. I’m retiring’ and then he goes and proceeds to fight. I don’t like that. I’ve never seen it actually go well for someone — where they say they’re going to retire, they go out there and put on a performance of a lifetime, and then they go and walk off into the sunset. Rarely do you see that.”

    Poirier enters this fight off a loss to Islam Makhachev at UFC 302 in a lightweight title clash. Holloway, meanwhile, enters this fight off an unsuccessful challenge of then-featherweight champ Ilia Topuria at UFC 308. Holloway became BMF champion by koncking out Gaethje at UFC 300.

  • Eddie Alvarez Reveals X-Ray Of Gruesome Broken Jaw Suffered In BKFC Loss

    Eddie Alvarez Reveals X-Ray Of Gruesome Broken Jaw Suffered In BKFC Loss

    Alongside his first statement on this past weekend’s result, Eddie Alvarez has revealed the brutal injury he sustained at BKFC KnuckleMania V.

    Alvarez, a former UFC lightweight champion, fell to a negative 1-2 record under the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship at Saturday’s high-profile event in his home city of Philadelphia.

    After splitting his first two outings in 2023 — defeating Chad Mendes before a corner stoppage gave Mike Perry victory at his expense — “The Underground King” headlined the fifth installment of KnuckleMania opposite fellow former UFC fighter Jeremy Stephens.

    After three rounds, Alvarez was deemed unable to continued by his corner, who chose to wave off the contest. That decision was widely supported, and anyone who questioned it likely won’t be anymore after seeing the damage “Lil Heathen” dealt his opponent’s way.

    In a recent post on Instagram, the defeated 41-year-old displayed an X-ray image showing the gruesome jaw break he suffered at the hands of Stephens.

    “Got hit with a kill shot in the first or second … I did my best to keep a Gameface and ignore it,” Alvarez wrote. “By the 3rd round the damage was too much. Please understand how bad I wanted this and what I sacrificed in order to Win, it wasn’t my night. Bare Knuckle is as real as it gets. Unpredictable, Fast Pace and violent …. Congrats to all the new Up and coming Philly stand outs @cody__fights @teamgarbarino @theanimalbkfc @hevweightbrady on their wins. You Men are the Future and made Philadelphia Proud, I’m soo Happy for our City and the future of our Combat Athletes.

    “Whether I win or lose is not as important as Philadelphia/Pennsylvania slowly becoming the most dominate Area in the country for Combat Sports. @bareknucklefc is the fastest Growing and will be the Greatest Show on Earth .. Mark my words 👊🏼👊🏼👊🏼👊🏼🙏🏼 Thank you Philadelphia for showing out … 👊🏼👊🏼”

    Alvarez didn’t provide an update on his fighting future in the caption of the post.

    Prior to a 13-month layoff, “The Underground King” had suffered two orbital fractures during his defeat to “Platinum” Perry in Salt Lake City.

  • ‘Make It Happen’ – Fans React To Jeremy Stephens Facing Off With Conor McGregor After Stopping Eddie Alvarez At BKFC KnuckleMania V

    ‘Make It Happen’ – Fans React To Jeremy Stephens Facing Off With Conor McGregor After Stopping Eddie Alvarez At BKFC KnuckleMania V

    In a battle of former power-punching UFC stars, Jeremy Stephens was able to come away with a huge victory, knocking out hometown hero Eddie Alvarez in Philadelphia in the main event of BKFC’s KnuckleMania V.

    The two started the fight with some feeling out before Alvarez connected with a pair of left jabs. “Lil Heathen” started to get a rhythm, but Alvarez got into his own groove, working Stephens over with crisp combinations.

    The former UFC champion started to work the body in the second round, but Stephens picked up his pace and power, landing stronger shots. Alvarez, however, took back control of the fight in the second half of the round.

    A right hand from “Lil Heathen” dropped Alvarez to start the third round. While “The Underground King” got back to his feet, Stephens aimed to get the finish, rushing forward and focusing on the jab.

    He was able to drop Alvarez with another right hand in the round’s closing seconds, and while the Philadelphia native saw the bell, his corner elected to wave the fight off after the round, giving Stephens the victory in enemy territory.

    Following his victory, Stephens had a faceoff with BKFC part-owner Conor McGregor, who once infamously asked who “Lil Heathen” was at a UFC press conference in 2016.

    Fans React As Jeremy Stephens Forces Corner Stoppage Of Eddie Alvarez, Faces Off With Conor McGregor

    https://twitter.com/MeterPeterD/status/1883385060864499999
    https://twitter.com/ProchazkaSzn/status/1883385722935337227

    Stephens now improves to 3-0 in the BKFC ring, having previously finished Jimmie Rivera and scored a decision over Bobby Taylor at BKFC 56 and BKFC 65, respectively.

    Alvarez, meanwhile, now falls to 1-2 in the promotion, having defeated Chad Mendes at BKFC 41 but lost to Mike Perry for the King of Violence Championship at BKFC 56.

  • Eddie Alvarez Explains Why Michael Chandler’s UFC Tenure Has Been ‘Frustrating’ To Watch

    Eddie Alvarez Explains Why Michael Chandler’s UFC Tenure Has Been ‘Frustrating’ To Watch

    Eddie Alvarez has been closely following Michael Chandler’s UFC career.

    Chandler entered the UFC with an impressive 21-5 MMA record and has since gone 2-4 over his last six fights. His most recent victory was a spectacular knockout of Tony Ferguson at UFC 274 in May 2022. However, the former Bellator champ’s momentum faltered he was submitted by Dustin Poirier, followed by another defeat at UFC 309, where he fell at the hands of former UFC lightweight champion Charles Oliveira for the second time.

    Despite Chandler’s successes, Alvarez believes his former Bellator rival has not reached his full potential in the UFC. Speaking with MMA Junkie, “The Underground King” shared his perspective:

    “If you ask him, he’s underperformed. He’ll know the reason for that or whatever the reasons are, but for sure I think he has all the tools to win the UFC title. It’s a matter of whether he uses the tools he has, and I don’t think he has properly, and I don’t know why. It’s very frustrating for me to watch because I know what he’s capable of, and what kind of grit and champion spirit he has.”

    Alvarez emphasized Chandler’s need to adjust his fighting style to leverage his strengths, particularly his wrestling ability.

    “I think it’s more of him tweaking the way he fights and using the weapons that he has. He just doesn’t use them, and it’s frustrating for me to watch, to be honest with you. I think it’s frustrating for a lot of people who are fans of him who want him to win because he can. He just doesn’t use the stuff that God’s given to him. He doesn’t use his wrestling at all, and it’s very dominant. He’s a very strong guy.”

    For Alvarez, Chandler’s unrealized potential and strategic decisions in the Octagon are what make his performances so perplexing to watch.

  • BKFC KnuckleMania 5 To Feature Eddie Alvarez vs. Jeremy Stephens

    BKFC KnuckleMania 5 To Feature Eddie Alvarez vs. Jeremy Stephens

    BKFC is headed to Philadelphia this January for its first event in the historic “Quaker City.”

    On Tuesday, BKFC announced that the fifth installment of KnuckleMania will showcase a showdown between UFC veterans Eddie Alvarez and Jeremy Stephens. The highly anticipated bout is scheduled for Jan. 25 at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

    “The Underground King” made a strong entrance into the world of bare-knuckle fighting with a victory over fellow UFC veteran Chad Mendes at BKFC 41 in April 2023. However, his momentum faltered in his second outing, suffering a TKO loss to BKFC’s marquee star Mike Perry in December.

    Now, Alvarez is gearing up for a homecoming, aiming to deliver a memorable performance in front of his hometown crowd in Philadelphia. This marks his first fight in the city in over 14 years, with his last appearance dating back to October 2010 when he secured a TKO win against Roger Huerta at Bellator 33.

    Meanwhile, Stephens remains unbeaten in his bare-knuckle career, having made a stunning debut with a third-round TKO victory over Jimmie Rivera at BKFC 56. “Lil Heathen” is riding high off a dominant unanimous decision win over Bobby Taylor at BKFC 65 this past September.

    The bare-knuckle promotion is making its long-awaited debut in Pennsylvania, following the state’s athletic commission granting official sanctioning for gloveless boxing in 2023.

  • UFC Full Fight: Relive Dustin Poirier’s Beatdown Of Eddie Alvarez In Main Event Rematch Ahead Of UFC 302

    UFC Full Fight: Relive Dustin Poirier’s Beatdown Of Eddie Alvarez In Main Event Rematch Ahead Of UFC 302

    UFC 302 headliner Dustin Poirier got the better of former lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez with an absolute onslaught in Calgary six years ago.

    The former interim UFC champion at 155 pounds will feature in the main event of this weekend’s pay-per-view card in Newark, New Jersey, where he’s tasked with bringing the reign of Islam Makhachev to an end in the Dagestani’s third defense.

    Poirier is now approaching his third shot at undisputed glory and fourth divisional title fight overall. To earn his first — a win over Max Holloway to capture the interim belt — “The Diamond” battered Alvarez in a Canada-held UFC main event.

    After an illegal knee from the former champ led to their first showdown concluding in a controversial no contest, Poirier left no doubt about his superiority over “The Underground King” when they ran it back.

    In the headlining act on July 28, 2018, both men picked things up after a pedestrian first round, but it was the Louisianan’s strikes that really found a home. Alvarez hung on and absorbed a brutal onslaught before eventually being stopped with 55 seconds remaining in the second frame.

    Ahead of Saturday’s event, the promotion has released the full Poirier vs. Alvarez rematch from UFC on Fox 30 on its official YouTube channel.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JWc1FU115xs

    “The Diamond” will hope to put in a similar performance en route to a long-awaited undisputed title crowning in this weekend’s UFC 302 headliner. 

    Win or lose, the Louisianan has suggested that the June 1 clash in Newark could mark his final appearance inside the Octagon as an active competitor. With that, he could close out his career by checking the final box on his list of accomplishments.

  • Archives: Eddie Alvarez: I’m The Only Man Who Can Beat Khabib (2021)

    Months after Khabib had retired from MMA, a name from his past argued that he was the only man who could defeat the undefeated Dagestani.

    The following article was published on this day one year ago. It is presented to you in its original, unaltered form, courtesy of The MMA News Archives.

    [ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED JANUARY 29, 2021, 6:10 PM]

    Headline: Eddie Alvarez: I’m The Only Man Who Can Beat Khabib

    Eddie Alvarez believes he is the only fight that would make sense for Khabib Nurmagomedov to come out of retirement.

    29 men have tried to topple the unbeaten and seemingly flawless UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov and all have failed. As the speculation of whether or not Khabib will pursue a 30-0 record spreads, in another world, perhaps he would already be 30-0, with Eddie Alvarez being on The Eagle’s victims list.

    Back in 2016, Eddie Alvarez was the UFC lightweight champion and there were talks of him potentially defending the title against Khabib. In fact, Khabib claims he was sent a “fake contract” to fight Alvarez as a negotiation ploy to lure Conor McGregor into accepting the terms for the UFC 205 main event against Alvarez. McGregor would later dominate Alvarez to become the “Champ-Champ, and Khabib would virally call “Number-1 Bullshit” on the whole fiasco.

    Eddie Alvarez Believes He Is Khabib’s Toughest Matchup

    Morning Report: Eddie Alvarez wants to fight the winner of Conor McGregor vs. Nate Diaz, says 'who gives a s*** about rankings?' - MMA Fighting
    Former UFC Champion Eddie Alvarez. Image Credit: Esther Lin

    Fast forward to 2021 and now Khabib Nurmagomedov is the lightweight champion, and it is Eddie Alvarez who says that a fight between the two would make sense, even though Alvarez is currently competing for another promotion.

    “I’m his only matchup that would make any sense, or give him a terrible time,” Alvarez told Morning Kombat. “There’s one guy that gave him a terrible time in the whole division, and this is just the truth. (Gleison) Tibau gave him a terrible time because Tibau was not overly great at anything.

    “Neither am I. I’m not overly great at anything. You say ‘What is Eddie great at?’ I’m not great at anything. I’m not a great striker, I’m not a great wrestler or great jiu-jitsu guy… I’m athletic, I have a strong spirit, a strong heart, and I will fight, I’ll fight to the death.”

    Eddie Alvarez currently competes for ONE Championship, a promotion Alvarez has called home since 2019. Alvarez is 1-1 in the promotion and has lost two of his last three fights overall.

    How do you think a fight between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Eddie Alvarez would play out?