Eddie Alvarez continues MMA odyssey with UFC title victory

Eddie Alvarez may not have completed his journey by finally capturing the UFC lightweight title on Thursday night, but he certainly hit a pivotal milestone along the way.

“This has always been like a marathon for me, not a sprint,” he said after knocking out Rafael dos Anjos in the first round of the main event of UFC Fight Night 90 at the MGM Grand Garden to take the belt.

Alvarez took a circuitous route to reach this point. The 32-year-old Philadelphia native won championships in three different organizations, including twice in Bellator MMA.

But he was constantly hounded by questions of how he would fare on the biggest stage.

“Everyone is always asking me when i was going to go to the UFC and take that challenge, telling me what I should do and when I should do it,” he said. “I just think if you work hard enough and love something, these belts are just byproducts of it. Right now I have the belt that I told a lot of people I would.

“I’m happy.”

That hasn’t always been the case. Alvarez endured a protracted legal battle with Bellator when he tried to leave the organization to sign with the UFC back in 2013 and the ordeal took a toll on his family.

“I was put through the wringer,” he said. “We don’t make a ton of money fighting, especially when you’re not in the UFC. So I had made some investments and I had to sell them just to stay afloat when I was going through that court case. I was really dwindling down to nothing.”

It even made him question his passion for his sport.

“My mind was getting really bitter toward MMA,” he said. “It asks everything of you, every inch of your soul. It wants everything, but sometimes it gives back nothing. It tells you when it wants to give back. I call it the ‘b-word’ sometimes. It’s tough. I dealt with that, but I’m a pretty positive guy and I kept my eye on the light at the end of the tunnel and we got through it. We persevered.”

Even when he was finally free to make the move in 2014, Alvarez didn’t find immediate success. He lost his first fight in the UFC to Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone and the skeptics pounced.

UFC president Dana White even piled on, suggesting he should think about dropping to featherweight in order to compete in the top organization.

“That was a quick decision off one fight,” he recalled. “It wasn’t a good time in my life. I lost to Cerrone and people were saying, ‘He’s just a Bellator guy that can’t make it in UFC.’ I had a baby daughter and she wasn’t doing well at the time. It was tough.

“I told my wife something really big’s got to happen. Something has to go really well for us because this just isn’t good. Enjoying life was very tough for me. I had to overcome that and not be a sore loser anymore. Suck it up and fight another guy.”

So he did. And he won.

Then he won again and the chips fell into place to earn a title shot.

Alvarez took full advantage by making quick work of dos Anjos on Thursday night.

It was a good place to take inventory of how far he has come, but Alvarez knows the thought will quickly turn to what’s next.

Dos Anjos already requested a rematch. Tony Ferguson could be in play with a victory next week and Khabib Nurmagomedov is undefeated and finally healthy.

Alvarez said all are worthy competitors that could all beat each other on any given night.

Now that he has some power as a UFC champion, Alvarez knows he can call some of the shots. His first request will be that the organization finally returns to his hometown of Philadelphia for an event.

Then, he wants to cash a quick check.

Alvarez said if Conor McGregor, who was supposed to fight dos Anjos earlier this year, still has interest in the lightweight title, he’ll be waiting.

“I’ve been fighting the toughest guys in the world for a long time,” he said. “I would ask (UFC president) Dana White please to give me an easier fight like Conor McGregor. Please. I’ve been fighting the best guys. I deserve that. I would like a gimmie fight.”

That may just get McGregor’s attention so Alvarez won’t have to travel too far to find him..

Contact reporter Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com or 702-224-5509. Follow him on Twitter: @adamhilllvrj