Twenty-five-year-old Philadelphia native Eddie Alvarez may just be the best American-born lightweight fighter currently not employed by the UFC. 

 

He is quietly considered to be as high as the No. 3 lightweight in the world by some publications, trailing only UFC champion B.J. Penn and WAMMA champion Shinya Aoki.

 

In other words, he’s firmly placed ahead of a group of well publicized UFC lightweights that includes Kenny Florian, Diego Sanchez, Frankie Edgar, Sean Sherk, and Gray Maynard.

 

Alvarez, now 17–2 in his professional MMA career, burst onto the scene in 2008 at the DREAM Lightweight Grand Prix that was held in Japan. 

 

Before the tournament was over, he had gone from virtual unknown to bonafide superstar in the “Land of the Rising Sun.”

 

Now Alvarez has his sights set squarely on the United Stateswhere he finds himself as the centerpiece of the newly formed Bellator Fighting Championships. 

 

He is currently in the midst of the first ever Bellator Lightweight Tournament.  With consecutive victories over Greg Loughran and Eric Reynolds he has earned a spot in the championship fight which will take place on June 19 in Hollywood, Fla.

 

His opponent will be Brazilian jiu-jitsu ace Toby Imade, who pulled off what many are calling the submission of the year in the semifinals when he used an inverted triangle choke to defeat the heavily favored Jorge Masvidal. 

 

Eddie graciously took time out of his busy training schedule to discuss his meteoric rise in Japan, a potential rematch with Shinya Aoki, his love for tournament formats, and what his future holds after the completion of the Bellator FC tournament.

 

Check it out.

 

 

Derek Bolender (BleacherReport.com):  I want to start by going way back to your last fight at welterweight. Nick Thompson handed you your first career loss in 2007. Was he simply too big, and did that fight make you realize you needed to be at 155 for good? What did you learn from that experience? 

 

Eddie Alvarez:  When I fought Nick Thompson, I wasn’t experienced enough. That was the first person that put me in a real fight. Before Nick nobody had put me in a fight where I had to struggle. He made me deal with adversity and helped me become the fighter I am today. I needed to know what it was like to be in a fight, to be in a battle, a win or lose battle. He put me in a fight and I lost. I learned from it. I’ve come a long way since.

 

 

Derek Bolender (BleacherReport.com):  You really burst onto the scene in 2008 in the DREAM lightweight grand prix. You knocked off Andre Amade, Joachim Hansen, and Tatsuya Kawajiri in succession but then the officials would not let you continue into the finals against Shinya Aoki because of a cut you sustained in the Kawajiri fight. How bad was the actual cut? 

 

Eddie Alvarez:  They didn’t stop it because of the cut. They would’ve let it go on if it was just a cut. My actual eyeball was swelling and it was starting to protrude out of my eye socket. They didn’t let me go on because of my eyeball, not actually the cut.

 

 

Derek Bolender (BleacherReport.com):  Did you agree with their decision to not let you continue fighting?

 

Eddie Alvarez:  That night I didn’t. It cost me $100,000. There was a lot of money on the line and I could’ve used that money for my family. Looking back in retrospect, that’s why they have officials there because as fighters we don’t always make the right decisions for ourselves.

 

I’m very emotional and I worked real hard for that tournament. If they would have let me I could have went on and went blind. You need people who are actually thinking with their heads and not their emotions. Looking back I think their decision was a good decision.

 

 

Derek Bolender (BleacherReport.com):  You’re sitting there watching Hansen take the crown after you had already beaten him and were the only undefeated fighter at the end of the tournament? What’s going through your head watching it all unfold? Do you still feel like that title belongs to you?   

 

Eddie Alvarez:  I think everything happened for a reason. I don’t try to dwell on it too much. It’s in the past. I was sincerely happy for Joachim Hansen. He dealt with more adversity and wins and losses than all of us. He worked harder than anybody in the tournament and he put his time in so he got what he deserved.

 

The longer I’m in this sport the more I realize that it’s not about the wins and losses that makes you a good fighter. It’s about putting the time in and fighting the best guys possible and going after them. The outcome will take care of itself.

 

It’s about going in there and fighting with good spirit. Joachim deserved it that night. He dealt with his wins and losses and put his time in. He got the check. That was only I was mad about was that I didn’t end up with the money. Other than that I was happy with my performance and there was nothing I could have done anymore to change the outcome of that night.

 

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