Philadelphias Eddie Alvarez challenges UFC lightweight champion Raphael Dos Anjos tonight. In a week of two blockbuster fight cards, this bout seems intriguing for few reasons.
Eddie Alvarez left Bellator back in late 2013 after avenging his loss to Michael Chandler in a five-round war that resulting in him becoming the lightweight champion.
Then he bounced. Free agency and the greener pastures of the UFC beckoned and were too svelte to resist.
After losing his first appearance in the Octagon to Donald Cowboy Cerrone, Alvarez has won two in a row, beating both former Strikeforce lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez and former UFC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis.
Now facing off against the current dominant lightweight champion in Brazilian Raphael Dos Anjos, Alvarez might be the first Bellator fighter to achieve UFC gold.
However, his opponent is a machine that has been on a tear since 2014. He has knocked out Jason High, Ben Henderson and Cerrone while dismantling Anthony Pettis and Nate Diaz going the distance.
Dos Anjos seems unstoppable right now and that makes for a good old fashioned scrap.
I just feel that Im so confident because I feel that I have more weapons than Alvarez, said Dos Anjos on the international pre-fight conference call. Hes a tough guy. Hes a tough opponent. But I just feel its my time.
Alvarez, who trained in Florida with the Blackzillians, recently reunited with his early career training camp partner Frankie Edgar, who also is on the card against Jose Aldo, to get a piece of that old spark.
Im back in Philadelphia with the team that I started with, Frankie Edgar, Mark Henry and Ricardo Almeida, said Alvarez during the conference call. “And it couldnt be better timing. Even fighting for 13 years, understanding that theres still more to improve on, it gets me excited.
Watch UFC Fight Night: Dos Anjos vs. Alvarez live tonight from the MGM Grand Garden Arena only on UFC Fight Pass.
