Eddie Alvarez Won’t Be Satisfied Unless He Wins The Belt In ONE

Eddie Alvarez has had a decorated MMA career, having won world titles in both the UFC and Bellator. Now signed to ONE Championship, ‘The Underground King’ is looking to add a third major title to his resume. He is scheduled to face former title challenger Iuri Lapicus at ONE on TNT 1 on April 7th.

Regarding his opponent, Alvarez admitted that he doesn’t know a great deal about him. Despite the string of victories Lapicus has put together, the 37 year old has only watched his title fight with Christian Lee at ONE: Inside The Matrix, which was the first loss of his career.

“He’s In My Way”

Speaking to MMA Junkie, Alvarez said that Lapicus appears to be a well-rounded versatile fighter, but he needs to ‘get him out of there in a decent fashion’ if he’s to earn a title shot.

“I haven’t gotten much tape. If you guys got any tape, I’d love to get it off you,” said Alvarez. “The only tape I’ve really seen was Christian Lee. I know this much: I know he’s from a judo background, so he’s well-versed in grappling. He’s training with Giorgio Petrosyan, who I always considered one of the best strikers in the world.

“So I know he has good guidance, and coming off the first loss of his career, I’d imagine he’s going to be hungrier than ever. That being said, for me, I’m chasing history and he’s in my way. So it’s important to get him out of there, and get him out of there in a decent fashion that kind of warrants a title fight.”

“I Have To Win This Title”

Alvarez’s ONE Championship career got off to a shaky start. His promotional debut back in March 2019 at ONE: A New Era saw him get knocked out in the first round by Timofey Nastyukhin, who coincidentally is set to challenge Lee for the title on the same card. The Philadelphia native bounced back however, with a comeback submission win over Eduard Folayang at ONE: Dawn Of Heroes five months later.

While he has beaten many recognisable names during his illustrious career, there is still one thing Alvarez would like to cross off his list: win the ONE lightweight title. And he believes a win over Lapicus would propel him into title contention.

“I have to win this title,” Alvarez said. “I have to. That’ll bug me. There’s a lot of things that bug me, but this’ll bug me. I think it’s a part of history. Very few people are going to have the opportunity to make this history, so in a sense I’m lucky, and in another sense I’m obligated to put forth my best effort to do it. I just don’t think a lot of people will be in this position ever, and I’m in it, and I’m fortunate enough to be in it. So I have to do this for myself, yes.”

Can Eddie Alvarez pull off the victory when he faces Iuri Lapicus at ONE on TNT 1?

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