Eddie Alvarez says striking vastly better in One Championship than UFC – ‘that can’t even be argued’

Eddie Alvarez has said the notion that all the best fighters in the world are in the UFC is “complete c**p”, and thinks One Championship even has better strikers.

The former UFC lightweight champion is now with the Asian MMA organisation, where he is 1-1 with both of his fights ending in the first round.

He suffered a shock first-round TKO by Russian knockout artist Timofey Nastyukhin (13-4) on his One debut in Tokyo. where he faces Turkish mauler “Dagi” Arslanaliev (8-1) in the final of the lightweight grand prix on October 13.

“As a fight fan myself, it’s clear that the level of striking is easily in the favour of One Championship. That can’t even be argued,” Alvarez told MMA Fighting.

“When you watch One Championship, and when you watch what goes on in the Muay Thai bouts and even the MMA bouts, the striking is vastly better in One Championship.”

Alvarez (30-7) suffered a nasty eye injury against Nastyukhin – he said it felt like it “exploded” – before getting a comeback submission win against Filipino former champion Eduard Folayang in Manila (before being taken to hospital).

One Championship: ‘dangerous’ mauler Dagi Arslanaliev awaits Eddie Alvarez in Tokyo grand prix final

“That whole theory is c**p that everybody who’s the best is a UFC guy,” said the 35-year-old Alvarez, a former Bellator lightweight champion. “It’s complete c**p because I was the guy who didn’t fight in the UFC. I went there and won the belt.

“I beat arguably the best lightweight in that history. [Rafael dos Anjos] at the time was killing everyone. Like literally murdering the who’s who. So to go to the UFC, win the belt and be a guy from the outside that never fought there, I’m the guy you’re talking about.

“I wasn’t a UFC fighter per se but I went there and I won the world title. If I could do it, isn’t it true that anybody from the outside could possibly go there and win the title? It’s not arguable. It’s fact. The best fighters in the world, they’re all over and they’re virtually unknown.”