Eddie Alvarez’s morning ended in huge disappointment. The former UFC lightweight champion was disqualified after repeatedly striking the back of his opponent’s head.
‘The Underground King’ was close to tears in the wake of the result and expressed his concern for Iuri Lapicus’ wellbeing following the Moldovan’s departure on a stretcher. Having had time to gather his thoughts, Alvarez addressed the media to express his dismay as the referee’s decision,
“I was able to watch the clip of the fight and see everything. And I think it was a bad call on the referee’s side. The American media is in uproar right now and so are the American fans. I’m going to respectfully ask them to look back at the video and reverse their call,” he said.
Fair and square
Alvarez is hoping that the decision to disqualify him will be overturned,
“I don’t see how it’s not overturned. I don’t want to discredit anyone based on what happens inside that cage. Referee, judging, all that. It’s high emotions and you have to make decisions based on a split second. I think the replay, after everybody goes back and looks, they’ll see everything was done righteously and I won fair and square.”
In many ways, this fight was an opportunity for Alvarez to make up for lost time. The 37-year-old had been out of action since he beat Eduard Folayang at ‘ONE: Dawn of Heroes’ in 2019. Despite his age, the Philly native does not take too kindly to the topic of retirement.
“You guys are fascinated about my age. I’m not. I started the sport when I was 19 years old. I’m two decades in and I’m learning new stuff every day, I still love it, I’m still infatuated with it.”
Top guys
He does not feel age is a factor bit believes he is on the small size for a lightweight,
“I don’t have the same feeling towards it that I did when I was 19 but that’s normal. That’s natural. I’m still evolving, still getting better. Still putting on performances and beating the top guys in the world. I wish people would stop asking me about retirement and my age and all that sort of stuff. I’m a young 37.”
As well as suggesting that he won the fight, Alvarez believes he should be given the winner of the upcoming title fight between champion Christian Lee and challenger Timofey Nastyukhin at ‘ONE on TNT’ part II. But despite gunning for a shot at the strap, Alvarez did express come frustration as being smaller than most opponents in the division.
“That’s what I’m here for. I’m here to make history. Let me make my history. These opponents are getting larger. Every time I come back they’re getting larger and larger. They’re getting bigger and bigger. I don’t even belong in this weight class. I’m fighting guys double my size. Give me the champion,” he said.
