The Takedown

Eddie Alvarez’s unfulfilling ONE Championship stint will leave fans wondering what might have been

‘The Underground King’ arrived from the UFC with much fanfare but unlike Demetrious Johnson he never truly got going

Put it down to rotten luck or a loss of lustre, but Alvarez’s time in the Singapore-based promotion will go down as a failure

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Eddie Alvarez is shown a red card after a disqualification against Iuri Lapicus at ONE on TNT 1. Photos: ONE Championship

Nico is a production editor on the South China Morning Post’s sport desk, where he covers mixed martial arts (MMA) in Asia, as well as local sport in Hong Kong.

Published: 7:43pm, 21 Sep 2022Updated: 2:42pm, 22 Sep 2022

Eddie Alvarez’s eventful four-year stint in ONE Championship has finally come to a fitting end – with plenty of fanfare, but ultimately disappointment.

The Post broke the news on Wednesday that the former UFC champion had mutually agreed to part ways with the Singapore-based promotion.

The 38-year-old American is now a free agent, and will no doubt covet interest from major fighting organisations like Bellator and the Professional Fighters League, and lesser lights like Bare Knuckle FC – as well as certain celebrity YouTube boxers.

While the final chapter in the legendary career of “The Underground King” is yet to be written, the postmortem of his curious – and, sadly, unsuccessful – time in ONE is certainly worth poring over.

Put it down to rotten luck or a loss of lustre, but Alvarez just simply never got going, and his time in the martial arts organisation will go down as a failure.

UFC president Dana White separates Conor McGregor and then-UFC lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez ahead of their November 2016 fight at Madison Square Garden. Photo: AFP

Alvarez, also a former lightweight champion in Bellator, arrived in ONE looking to complete a “triple crown” of major promotional titles.