One of the underrated storylines heading into International Fight Week is that UFC lightweight Eddie Alvarez has the opportunity to make history.
At UFC Fight Night 90 on July 7, the 32-year-old looks to become the first former Bellator champion to win a UFC championship when he meets current lightweight kingpin Rafael dos Anjos. This 155-pound title fight didn’t seem like a reality a few months ago when champion dos Anjos suffered an injury prior to his matchup with Conor McGregor at UFC 196. Even prior to that, the UFC didn’t seem sold with Alvarez as a title contender.
“After speaking with [UFC matchmaker Joe Silva at UFC Pittsburgh], I didn’t get the impression that [a title fight] was actually going to happen,” Alvarez told Sportsnet. “I wasn’t too hopeful, I wasn’t sure what the next move was. I just got back into camp and started training. I was surprised to get the call and we’re ready to rock and roll.”
When McGregor lost that fight to short-notice replacement Nate Diaz at UFC 196, the landscape of the lightweight division changed. UFC brass called up the former Bellator champion and told him the good news.
“I was in my living room, feeding my daughter I think. I immediately had a rush of energy through my body,” Alvarez said. “I’ve been fighting for 13 years, it’s hard to get me excited about a fight, a matchup, anything. We do this every day. But this is one thing that I felt like I was 18 years old again and starting my career all over.”
Alvarez (27-4) has gone 2-1 in the UFC, suffering a decision loss to Donald Cerrone in his UFC debut but rebounded with back-to-back victories over former Strikeforce champion Gilbert Melendez and former UFC/WEC champ Anthony Pettis. Prior to his UFC tenure, Alvarez amassed a 10-1 record over a six-year span including avenging losses to Michael Chandler and Shinya Aoki plus beating former UFC fighters Roger Huerta and Josh Neer. The Philadelphia native, who tabs himself “The Underground King” – seriously, he sells t-shirts to prove it – doesn’t mind that this championship fight is flying under the radar with UFC 200 two days later casting a big shadow.
“I’ll worry about the spotlight when I become champion,” Alvarez said. “Then I’ll make sure that everybody’s watching, people are tuning in and everything like that. When I get that belt, then it will matter. We can do this in an alleyway in the streets of Philadelphia. It wouldn’t make a difference to me as long as it’s for that belt.”
Oddsmakers currently have Alvarez pinned as a sizeable underdog but as the former Bellator champion points out it’s the first time in his UFC career that he’s fought someone closer to his size.
“I haven’t really got to fight a guy my height, my range, my size since I’ve been in the UFC. [I’ve faced] a lot of lankier and taller guys. Body wise I feel we match up pretty similarly. I think I’m faster, a little more athletic than him. I really like the matchup. I think he’s really aggressive, a lot of fighters in the UFC are athletes, and they aren’t necessarily fighters. When I say that, I mean an athlete can do well when he’s dominating because he’s quick, fast, and strong. A real fighter knows how to deal with adversity, he knows how to take a butt whooping and bounce back and get in the guy’s face. I think he’s fought a lot of athletes and he’s done well against [them].”
While dos Anjos has arguably fought better fighters in his career, Alvarez has more championship experience having been a title holder in Bellator for many years. He has also competed more frequently than his Brazilian foe of late, which he believes will be an advantage in this matchup.
“I think my experience and I’ve been fairly active against the top guys. I’m not fighting top-30, top-20 guys. Everybody I’ve faced is top-five guys and I’m making sure I’m putting the opponents in front of me that are dangerous. Even my training partners are super dangerous. There are small margins for errors where we train. It’s going to be a list of a lot of things that are the reason that I’ll hold the lightweight title by the end of the night.”
Not only does Alvarez believe he’ll win this fight, but he predicts a finish.
“I think second or third, there’s going to be an exchange. I’ll land a big shot and finish with a submission. I think I’m going to land a big enough shot where he’ll be out before he hits the ground and I can submit him. I know what I’m capable of and everybody’s going to see it on July 7. My favourite thing to say is ‘I told you so,’ When people put me in that situation where I have an opportunity to say that, I get excited.”
Follow James Lynch on Twitter @LynchOnSports
