ONE Championship: Eddie Alvarez ‘realises his clock is ticking’ says CEO Chatri Sityodtong after ‘amicable’ split
- Chairman and CEO says parting ways with 38-year-old former UFC champion makes sense because ‘both sides were not winning’
- ‘We both agreed we weren’t getting what we wanted, so why continue the relationship? I have nothing but love and respect for Eddie,’ Chatri says
Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong has broken his silence on Eddie Alvarez’s shock departure from ONE Championship.
“In every relationship in life both sides have to win,” Chatri told the Post on a post-event media call in the early hours of Friday morning following ONE 161 at Singapore Indoor Stadium.
“And if both sides are not winning, then it makes sense to part ways and I really am grateful for Eddie for his time here. And he’s grateful as well and again, I have a good relationship with him.
“But I think both of us were caught by surprise with the pandemic. It obviously delayed the US launch of ONE into the US by at least two years. So I think Eddie was – and we were – hoping that Eddie could help us in the US with the launch and whatnot.”
The 38-year-old American Alvarez echoed his former boss Chatri’s words on Twitter when he confirmed his split from ONE was “amicable”.
Also a former Bellator lightweight champion, “The Underground King” had reiterated his desire to win a “triple crown” of major promotional titles as recently as July, at a press conference promoting the launch of ONE’s US broadcast deal with Amazon Prime Video.