UFC 178 Notebook: Desired Destination

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The wait is almost over for Eddie Alvarez.

The former Bellator MMA lightweight champion will make his long-awaited Ultimate Fighting Championship debut against Donald Cerrone in the UFC 178 “Johnson vs. Cariaso” co-main event on Saturday at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. Eleven years and 28 fights into his career, Alvarez has finally arrived at his desired destination.

“I thought the feelings were going to be a lot different,” Alvarez told Sherdog.com. “I describe it the same as, you set a goal to get the title, no matter what promotion you’re in. You try to get that belt, and you work so hard for it; and then you finally get the belt and you go, ‘OK, what’s next?’ A lot of people are coming up to me congratulating me on something [where] I haven’t really achieved anything yet. I just happen to be in the UFC now, but I haven’t achieved anything yet. For me, I’m like, ‘What’s next?’”

The answer to his question: Cerrone. The Jackson-Wink MMA representative has rattled off four wins in a row, all of them finishes. Cerrone, 31, last appeared at a UFC Fight Night event in July, when he knocked out AMA Fight Club’s Jim Miller with a second-round head kick and follow-up punches at the Revel Casino in Atlantic City, N.J.

Alvarez understands the risks involved in hand-to-hand combat with the “Cowboy.”

“I’m not going to do anything to compliment his strengths,” he said. “That’s not what I’m into. I want to beat him as fast and as efficient as possible. We’re going to exploit some of his weaknesses, all of his weaknesses, and that’s the idea. It gets no simpler than that.”

Alvarez is 10-1 over his past 11 appearances, losing only to Alliance MMA standout Michael Chandler. He later avenged the defeat, reclaiming the Bellator lightweight title with a split decision over Chandler in November. Alvarez, who has not fought since, wants to prove he belongs with the 155-pound elite in the UFC.

“There’s no doubt in my mind, not a single doubt in my mind, when it comes to fighting, when it comes to the word ‘fighting,’ giving damage and taking damage, I am the best person in the world at 155 [pounds],” he said.

A decisive victory over Cerrone -- a man who holds wins against Edson Barboza, K.J. Noons, Jeremy Stephens and Charles Oliveira, among others -- could put Alvarez in line to challenge for UFC gold in early 2015.

“I would like a title shot as soon as possible,” he said. “I’m not one of those guys saying, ‘Oh, I want a top 10 guy or I want a top 15 guy.’ I want the champion. I want the title. That’s what I came here for, so the sooner I can get it, the better. Anything can happen tomorrow, whether I’m in camp or whether I’m training for a fight. Anything can happen. I feel like this is my time. My time is now. I want to take advantage of this opportunity, so I want to beat Donald Cerrone and move on and fight for the title, if that’s possible.”

LONG-OVERDUE RETURN

After multiple knee surgeries and a groin tear left him on the sidelines for nearly three years, former bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz will throw his name back in the cage at 135 pounds.

The Alliance MMA rep vacated his bantamweight crown in January, when injuries rendered him incapable of defending it and will return to the MMA scene in a high-risk, high-reward battle against the resurgent Takeya Mizugaki. Cruz, who has won 10 consecutive bouts, has not competed since October 2011.

The 29-year-old must now shake off the rust in time to corral the notoriously durable and difficult-to-handle Mizugaki, a Japanese brute who steps into their match on the strength of five straight victories.

“Takeya comes in very good condition with a warrior spirit, meaning nothing but pushing the button on his chin or cutting off blood [and] air to his brain really stops him,” Cruz said in his pre-fight interview with UFC.com, “so that’s the goal for me to accomplish.”

THIS & THAT

Flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson (18:35) ranks second only to Jose Aldo in longest average fight time in UFC history, according to FightMetric figures ... Chris Cariaso is 12-2 in fights that reach the judges ... A former two-division Cage Warriors Fighting Championship titleholder, Conor McGregor sports four-, 16-, 67-, 82- and 93-second finishes on his resume ... Tim Kennedy earned a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from Columbia College in Missouri ... MMA Masters representative Amanda Nunes holds the rank of black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu and brown belt in judo ... When Kevin Lee was born on Sept. 4, 1992, the top five movies at the domestic box office were “Honeymoon in Vegas,” “Unforgiven,” “Single White Female,” “Pet Sematary II” and “Death Becomes Her” ... The five men who have defeated James Krause -- Cerrone, Bobby Green, Clay French, Toby Imada and Ricardo Lamas -- own a cumulative record of 149-39-1 ... Patrick Cote is one of three men to have held the Maximum Fighting Championship middleweight crown, along with Elvis Mutapcic and Sam Alvey ... Brian Ebersole trains with Tiger Muay Thai in Phuket, Thailand, more than 8,700 miles from Las Vegas ... Manny Gamburyan submitted his first four professional opponents in a combined 189 seconds, utilizing an armbar, a heel hook and two guillotine chokes ... UFC 178 “Johnson vs. Cariaso” will be the 292nd event the Ultimate Fighting Championship has staged since debuting in 1993.