Eddie Alvarez is set to get the payday he deserves.
One of MMA’s good guys looks like he’s about to take his business away from Dana White and the UFC and link up with Japanese promotion ONE Championship.
The 34-year-old who boasts a 29-6 record in the pro game fought only in July there but was stopped in the second round by Dustin Poirier. He won Fight of the Night the December beforehand though when he finished Justin Gaethje with an unbelievable uppercut knee that sunk his compatriot.
🚨 Fights of 2017 🚨
3. Eddie Alvarez and Justin Gaethje gave us war at UFC 218 🙌 pic.twitter.com/k2X1UhO5Q5
— UFC on TNT Sports (@ufcontnt) December 31, 2017
But before the Poirier battles, Alvarez lost his lightweight belt – the one he took from Rafael dos Anjos – to Conor McGregor at the end of 2016 but he was completely magnanimous in defeat.
Since then, he has endeared himself to the Irish people even more.
He showed such a decent act of generosity and class when he visited Tyrone native Aaron Elliot in hospital in Philadelphia after an awful road accident had the Irish man laid up.
Eddie Alvarez really showed his true colours with reaction to seriously injured GAA player
He was leading the support for Tyrone to finally beat Dublin in the build-up to the All-Ireland clash. And he’s also a fan of Ireland’s Sean Maguire.
It doesn’t take much to win the hearts of this island but everything Alvarez has done since courageously admitting that McGregor was a better fighter than him, the fondness for him has grown stronger.
Now, Ariel Helwani is reporting that Alvarez is off.
Dana White said after the Poirier fight that he would not stand in the way if The Underground King wanted to sign with another promotion and the free agent looks like he’s about to break a record.
Free agent Eddie Alvarez is very close to agreeing to a new multi-fight contract with ONE Championship, multiple sources told ESPN. This would be the biggest FA signing in ONE history.
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) October 13, 2018
A move there would see Alvarez become the most high-profile and most expensive signing at ONE but he joins a growing list of reputable names who have put pen to paper and, with this move, it could open the vortex for more to follow.
