5 Things You Might Not Know About Eddie Alvarez

The sun may be starting to set on Eddie Alvarez and his stellar career.

Alvarez, who ranks as one of the greatest lightweights of all-time, signed with One Championship as a big-ticket free agent in 2018 after reaching the peak of his profession in Bellator MMA and the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Not much has gone according to plan since. Having recorded just one win through four appearances with the Singapore-based company, the 37-year-old Alvarez has hit a bump in the road with which he must be wholly unfamiliar. Whether or not “The Underground King” can recapture some of his past magic remains to be seen.

As Alvarez awaits word on his next assignment from One Championship matchmakers, here are five things you might not know about him:

1. He poses a multi-dimensional threat.

Alvarez’s success in mixed martial arts revolves largely around his prodigious standup skills, as he has secured more than half (18) of his 30 professional victories by knockout or technical knockout. However, he has other arrows in his quiver. Alvarez was a two-time All-American wrestler at Northeast Catholic High School in Philadelphia, where he piled up more than 100 career wins, and holds the rank of black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu under Ricardo Almeida.

2. A unique feather sticks in his cap.

The Philadelphia native remains the only fighter in history who has captured championships in Bellator MMA and the UFC. Alvarez has also claimed titles in the Mixed Fighting Championships, Reality Fighting and Bodog Fight promotions.

3. His resume beams with quality.

Alvarez has beaten former champions from the following promotions: Shooto (Shinya Aoki, Tatsuya Kawajiri, Joachim Hansen), Bellator (Michael Chandler, Pat Curran), Strikeforce (Gilbert Melendez), the UFC (Anthony Pettis, Rafael dos Anjos), Deep (Katsunori Kikuno) and the World Series of Fighting (Justin Gaethje).

4. Consistency has marked his journey.

The Mark Henry protege made his pro debut at the age of 19 on Dec. 14, 2003 and has suffered back-to-back losses just once in his 40-fight career. Alvarez succumbed to punches from Dustin Poirier in the second round of their UFC on Fox 30 rematch on July 28, 2018, then bowed out to punches from Timofey Nastyukhin a little more than four minutes into their One Championship “A New Era” pairing on March 31, 2019.

5. His losses age well.

Alvarez’s eight career defeats have come to Ok, Nastyukhin, Poirier, Aoki, Chandler, Nick Thompson, Donald Cerrone and Conor McGregor. They boast a combined record of 222-65-1 (.771).