It was over three years ago when Eddie Alvarez’s career was stuck in limbo. Embroiled in dueling lawsuits with his then-promoter Bellator, Alvarez’s biggest fights took place in courtrooms, where he was fighting for the freedom to ply his trade with the organization of his choice.
On one winter day in January 2013, everything seemed to fall apart when Alvarez’s request for an injunction to fight on UFC 159 and possibly make millions was denied.
Afterward, a dejected Alvarez, realizing there was no end in sight to his professional purgatory, could hardly bring himself to say more than a few words.
But the thing about Alvarez is that by then, he was a man who understood the importance of perseverance. He had grown up in a rough section of Philadelphia and fit right in, walking the edges of life’s wrong paths before dedicating himself to mixed martial arts.
His time on the sidelines was just another obstacle to face down. So when he got his opportunity to finally fight for the UFC lightweight championship—after those troublesome early times, after a dozen years as a mercenary fighting around the world for numerous promotions, after the lawsuit—all of those frustrations came pouring out of him.
The unlucky recipient of the business end was Rafael dos Anjos. The man terrorizing the division and destroying contenders was bombarded with one of the all-time great swarms in UFC title fight history. It was as if a lifetime’s worth of frustrations, hopes and desires all came out.
“That’s the old me,” Alvarez told UFC announcer Jon Anik after knocking Dos Anjos out three minutes and 49 seconds into the first round of their UFC Fight Night bout. “I told you don’t bring the dog out. Don’t bring the dog out of me!”
Working with a new boxing coach, Mark Henry, who has led Frankie Edgar’s renaissance, Alvarez (28-4) looked fast and loose, and he changed the fight when he landed a long right hook that snaked around and through Dos Anjos’ guard—Alvarez later called it “the anaconda,”—crashing into his chin and putting him on wobbly legs.
Dos Anjos somehow kept on his feet, but realizing the enormity of the opportunity, Alvarez decided it was now or never, unleashing a barrage for the ages. Straights, hooks, elbows, flying knees. Finally, an uppercut slumped Dos Anjos against the cage. With Dos Anjos unable to fight back or defend himself, referee Herb Dean stepped in, making Alvarez the first man ever to hold titles in both the UFC and Bellator.
“He’s a champ through and through,” Alvarez said in the post-fight press conference. “You can’t allow a guy like that to overcome that situation. I remember [thinking to myself], step on the gas and don’t let him out of the first or I might be dealing with a long night.”
Eddie Alvarez. What a damn story.
— Marc Raimondi (@marc_raimondi) July 8, 2016
Pretty awesome performance from Eddie Alvarez. He didn't give dos Anjos a chance to recover. Started the week right! #UFCVegas
— Jonathan Snowden (@JESnowden) July 8, 2016
Eddie Alvarez becomes the first fighter to win a both Bellator and a UFC championship. #UFCVegas
— Mike Johnston (@MikeyJ_MMA) July 8, 2016
And with that, Alvarez suddenly moves into the driver’s seat of one of MMA’s most competitive divisions. He could fight Dos Anjos in a rematch, although that’s unlikely. He could fight Khabib Nurmagomedov. And, of course, the fighter who casts a shadow over every lighter weight division is a possibility as well.
Always the businessman, Alvarez seemed to like the idea of fighting Conor McGregor, shooting some flame the Irishman's way.
“This guy [dos Anjos] to the right of me is the best in the division, so to come out with win over him, and before him was [Anthony] Pettis, and before him was Gilbert [Melendez], these are the best guys in the division,” he said. “I’m not taking on the top 15, so I would ask Dana White, please give me an easier fight like Conor McGregor. I deserve that. I’ve been fighting the best guys so I would like a 'gimme' fight. Conor, I more than welcome that.”
Asked how the two might match up, Alvarez accused McGregor of "sneaking" his way around the fighters who would best stylistically challenge him.
"I think he can get found out if he was ever to fight Rafael dos Anjos or fight myself," he said. "He'd get found out very quickly."
What went unsaid was the obstacle-laden path that he himself took to the top. Even after working his way out of his Bellator deal and signing with the UFC, Alvarez’s run to the belt was unlikely.
When he finally arrived in the UFC in September 2014 as the reigning Bellator champion, he promptly lost his Octagon debut to Donald Cerrone, sending him back into a long line of lightweights vying for a title shot. UFC president Dana White even suggested that Alvarez consider a drop to featherweight.
Alvarez never seriously considered the possibility, and he went on to beat Melendez and Pettis, though both victories came in close split decision. Perhaps getting repaid by the universe for his earlier troubles, Alvarez got his golden opportunity when the division suddenly needed a challenger and he got the nod. And in the unpredictable world of MMA, he cashed in despite entering the fight as the biggest underdog of the weekend’s three UFC main events, according to Odds Shark.
The end of a journey? Not exactly. More like a culmination of everything that came before it. He can't rest on his laurels now, but at least for a night, he can sit back and appreciate the obstacle course he successfully navigated.
“This has always been like a marathon for me, not a sprint,” he said. “People were always asking, ‘When are you going to go to the UFC? When you are going to challenge for the belt?' I think when you work hard enough, things like this [belt] are the byproducts. This will not be here forever, but doing something you love and are passionate about are important. Right now I’m the champion when not a lot of people thought I would be. I’m happy.”
