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Eddie Alvarez has always been a bit nomadic when it comes to his fighting career, especially in the UFC, Bellator MMA and now the ONE Championship.
Much of the reason he signed with the Singapore-based promotion was the opportunity to add another world title to his resume while he was already a champion at both UFC and Bellator.
His ONE Championship debut did not go as planned after Alvarez was knocked out by Timofey Nastyukhin in a fight that saw his eyelid splitting in half before stopping. He bounced back with a win over former ONE champion Eduard Folayang and is now a finalist in the lightweight grand prix, which will end in October.
Sayvar "Dagi" Arslanaliev, who has no well-known name, has gained a solid reputation among fans of fierce battles who have seen him win eight career victories – all by knockout or bid – with only a winning opponent. past the first round.
With two fights under his belt and a third on the road, Alvarez has seen the kind of competition that ONE Championship will offer him and he refutes any claim that the athletes in this training are not at the same level as those he created. facing the UFC.
"All this theory is fucking that everyone who is the best is a guy from the UFC," said Alvarez in addressing MMA Fighting. "It's completely bad, because I was the guy who did not fight at the UFC. I went there and I won the belt. I've probably beaten the best lightweight in this story. [Rafael dos Anjos] at the time was killing everyone. Like literally murder who is who. So, to go to the UFC, win the belt and be an outsider who has never fought there, I'm the guy you're talking about.
"I was not a UFC fighter, but I went and won the world title. If I could do it, is not it true that someone from the outside could possibly go out there and win the title? This is not debatable. It's a fact. The best fighters in the world, they are everywhere and they are virtually unknown. "
If Alvarez believes the ONE Championship fighters are really good, it's on their feet.
He has witnessed some really spectacular strikes since he began studying athletes in ONE, and he feels he is far superior to the fighters currently competing in the UFC.
"As a fighting fan myself, it is clear that the strike level is easily in favor of ONE Championship. It can not even be discussed, "said Alvarez." When you watch ONE Championship and watch what happens in the Muay Thai and even the MMA fights, the shot is much better in ONE Championship. "
If Alvarez is forced to make major adjustments since his passage at the ONE Championship, it is the difference in size with which he must compose while remaining light.
ONE Championship applies a set of strict weight rules to its athletes, which essentially means that athletes compete in a division while competing technically in a lower weight category. In other words, Alvarez is fighting at 170 pounds, which would mean that he's a welterweight in most promotions, but in the ONE Championship, making him a lightweight.
Alvarez faced this kind of adversity in his first two bouts where Nastyukhin and Folayang were obviously bigger than him, but he knew it would be a problem the day he signed with ONE Championship and chose to compete in the light weight division.
"It's an adjustment that I accepted. The guys are bigger. My opponents are bigger but they are also fighting in the ONE Championship and have made this adjustment for years, "explained Alvarez. "I'm doing this adjustment to beat myself to a high 170. I'm not going to be the biggest 170-pound player. This has advantages and disadvantages. I can sit here and say "oh, they are bigger" or I can focus on the good things, as I would be more conditioned because they have to move more weight or I'm faster because they are more muscular. There are advantages and disadvantages.
"Being taller does not always mean being better. I am a believer convinced that fights are not won with a size gap. Fights are won and lost in the minds of both guys inside the cage. "
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