Eddie Alvarez Caps off Wild Comeback Win at ONE Championship: Dawn of Heroes

Nathan McCarter @McCarterNFeatured ColumnistAugust 2, 2019

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EDDIE ALVAREZ WITH THE FINISH https://t.co/MhUfwuEKQD

"The Underground King" Eddie Alvarez did Eddie Alvarez things at ONE Championship: Dawn of Heroes at the Mall of Asia Arena in the Philippines on Friday.

An Alvarez fight doesn't really begin to take shape until he gets dropped. His comeback victories are almost too numerous to name at this stage in his career, but he continues to do it.

Marc Raimondi @marc_raimondi
Holy crap, what a comeback from Eddie Alvarez! He gets the rear-naked choke win after injuring his leg and getting beat up on the ground. The Underground King!

Dann Stupp @DannStupp
Holy cow. What a win. Hobbled by a low kick. Survives ground-and-pound. Then ends it with a RNC. A lot of craziness packed into a few minutes. https://t.co/0iOLXkqI5h

As part of the lightweight grand prix semi-finals, Alvarez battled Eduard Folayang. The 170-pound tournament has Alvarez fighting above his typical weight class, but he showed his mettle in the victory in typical fashion.

Folayang put Alvarez on the mat with a strong leg kick that made a sickening sound. He sensed he had Alvarez hurt and followed with ground-and-pound. But that is when Alvarez is most dangerous. He avoided major damage from the strikes before turning the tides with a fantastic sweep.

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"We've seen this in my head." @Ealvarezfight is HYPE after his first ONE win 👏 https://t.co/jFM1VWic7W

Alvarez got Folayang's back and worked the choke. It wasn't long before it was under the chin and Folayang was forced to tap out.

The official time of the finish came at two minutes, 16 seconds of the first round.

Alvarez advanced to the finals, where he will meet Saygid Guseyn Arslanaliev on October 13 for the lightweight grand prix championship in Tokyo.