Former UFC and Bellator lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez had a very interesting reason as to why he decided to begin competing in mixed martial arts (MMA).
Eddie Alvarez’s time with ONE Championship has been disappointing to say the least. He has only won one fight during his four appearances since making his promotional debut in March 2019.
Eddie Alvarez Explains Why He Started MMA
Alvarez was recently interviewed by fellow UFC veteran Chael Sonnen. During that interview, Alvarez talked about his upbringing in Philadelphia, and the beginning of his mixed martial arts (MMA) career.
“The Underground King” explained that he got into a lot of street fights in his youth. He even got to a point where he truly believed that nobody could beat him in a fight, inspiring his venture into professional fighting.
“I was just in a lot of street fights from like 17 – from about 16 all the way to like 19. Just in trouble, out in Philadelphia doing bad sh*t with bad people. Just a lot of nonsense.
“And then I just decided, “Hey I’m going to try this,” because I really believed nobody could beat me in a fight. I really believed that. I was delusional.”
Alvarez has gone on to have one of the most legendary careers in MMA. He began fighting in 2003, having almost 20 years of experience inside of the cage.
He’s a former UFC champion and an ex-Bellator champion as well. Currently, Alvarez competes for ONE Championship in their lightweight division.
In his bout with Iuri Lapicus, Alvarez was winning handily until he was disqualified after just 62 seconds for blows to the back of the head; the fight was eventually deemed a no contest after Alvarez appealed. His last outing in April resulted in a unanimous decision defeat. Alvarez’s last win inside the cage came against Eduard Folayang in 2019, who he submitted in the first round.
