7 former Bellator champions who jumped to the UFC - and how they fared

#4 Eddie Alvarez

Eddie Alvarez won the UFC Lightweight title - becoming the only former Bellator champion to win UFC gold too

The inaugural Bellator Lightweight champion, Eddie Alvarez is probably the most successful crossover from Bellator to the UFC since the emergence of the promotion in 2009. ‘The Underground King’ held Bellator’s title on two separate occasions and put together an impressive 9-1 record there between 2009 and 2013.

It took a hell of a lot of work to get him into the UFC in the first place – initially, he attempted to move there in 2012, only for Bellator to supposedly match the UFC’s contract offer. It was a controversial move from Bellator that saw Alvarez attempt to sue the promotion before coming to an agreement with them in 2013 to continue fighting there.

Alvarez then regained his title from Michael Chandler, the man who had dethroned him two years prior, but was then sidelined with an injury. When he returned, Bellator had a new man at the helm – Scott Coker – and he agreed to release Alvarez from his contract to pursue his UFC dream.

A debut loss to Donald Cerrone appeared to suggest Alvarez could become a bust, but he bounced back with wins over Gilbert Melendez and Anthony Pettis to set up a title shot against Rafael Dos Anjos – and subsequently knocked the Brazilian out to capture the UFC Lightweight title, becoming the only man to hold a UFC title after holding a title in Bellator.

Alvarez was then knocked out by Conor McGregor to lose his title, and went on to have exciting fights with Justin Gaethje and Dustin Poirier before moving to ONE FC in late 2018. ‘The Underground King’ was a huge success in the UFC, though, and Bellator champions moving across would definitely look to follow his example.