ONE Championship signs Eddie Alvarez to multi-bout deal
THE EVER-GROWING roster of fighters of ONE Championship was shored up big time after the signing of mixed martial arts lightweight champion Eddie “The Underground King” Alvarez to a multi-bout deal.
In an announcement made on Tuesday, ONE Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong said the organization is very thrilled to have the many-time world champion in its fold and excited for the fans to see one of the best in MMA in action.
“I am thrilled to announce that multiple-time world champion Eddie Alvarez will be joining ONE Championship on a multiple-bout contract. Eddie is one of the best martial artists in the world, and is no doubt a tremendous addition to the ONE roster,” said Mr. Sityodtong in a statement.
“The ONE Championship roster is incredibly deep with talents such as Shinya Aoki, Eduard Folayang, and Amir Khan, among others. I am excited to have Eddie in that mix and to see some amazing matchups and performances. This is no doubt one of the biggest athlete signings in the history of ONE Championship,” the ONE chairman added.
Mr. Alvarez, 34, has been a lightweight champion in both Bellator and the Ultimate Fighting Championship in a highly successful 15-year career so far.
In Bellator, Mr. Alvarez (296, 1 no contest) won the lightweight title in 2009, holding it for two years.
He was once again crowned champion in 2013 when he won over Michael Chandler by split decision.
Mr. Alvarez then moved to the UFC after where he beat the likes of Gilbert Melendez and Anthony Pettis before taking the lightweight title from Rafael Dos Anjos by way of technical knockout (punches) in the opening round of their title clash in July 2016.
He was to lose the title though four months later to Conor McGregor.
Mr. Alvarez was last seen in July this year in his rematch with Dustin Poirier in the UFC where he lost by way of technical knockout in the second round (punches and elbow).
After the defeat, which was his last fight under his recent UFC contract, Mr. Alvarez was left unsigned, opening the doors for other promotions, including ONE, to sign him up.
The announcement yesterday confirmed lingering talk that Mr. Alvarez was heading to ONE Championship.
Now with ONE, Mr. Alvarez is provided another opportunity to further solidify his standing in MMA history as one of its more successful fighters.
He also gets a chance to settle things with current ONE fighter Aoki of Japan, who he had faced twice in the past in other promotions.
The two fighters split their encounters with Mr. Aoki taking the first in 2008 and Mr. Alvarez exacting payback in 2012. —