Eddie Alvarez opens up on his departure from ONE Championship

Former Bellator and UFC lightweight world champion Eddie Alvarez has opened up about his departure from ONE Championship.

Alvarez, 30-8 as a professional mixed martial arts fighter, signed with Asia’s top martial arts promotion in 2018 and has compiled a 1-2 and 1 no contest record under the ONE banner. Alvarez says he remains in a good relationship with ONE but wants to finish his career in the USA.

“The contract was coming to an end, and I spoke with my agent and I told him I would like my career to finish up in the United States. When we originally sat down with ONE, the idea was that [they] would progressively move to the US,” Alvarez told MMA Hour.

“The plan was to have fights in Asia. I would start in Asia and towards the end of my contract, we would move closer to the US and eventually get a fight there. Unfortunately, the pandemic threw a wrench into all of those plans and slowed the progression of that up by a lot.”

Alvarez, who last saw action when he lost via unanimous decision to Ok Rae Yoon in April 2021, also stated that he would gladly re-sign with the UFC or Bellator so he could compete again on his home soil.

“I’m going to more than likely be signing my last contract and I just want to be fighting here in the United States. I really want and need to fight in the United States to finish my career here,” he said.

—JMB, GMA News