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Eddie Alvarez's return to active competition didn't turn out the way he would've hoped for. In the first fight of ONE on TNT in Singapore, Alvarez was disqualified for illegal blows to the back of the head in his fight against Iuri Lapicus.
Eddie Alvarez was shown a red card after a controversial call from the referee which resulted in him being disqualified.
After the fight, an emotional Alvarez stated that he had no intent in hitting his opponent with illegal shots and also apologized for it.
The former UFC Lightweight champion explained that he was turning his opponent's head the other way and was warned by the referee.
After the warning, Alvarez started shoving his opponent's head towards his punch. He also decided to take his own head and push Lapicus to the side of the punch that was being thrown.
Eddie Alvarez also added that he felt at times that he was hitting his opponent in the ear and felt those to be legal shots.
“Iuri was turning his head the other way and the referee warned me, he said to me ‘back of the head, Eddie. So you see me take my head and I start shoving his head towards my punch. You’ll see it in the tape. When the ref warns me, I take my own head and I push Iuri’s to the side of the punch that it was coming. On top of that, I felt like as long as I’m hitting the ear at some point that it’s legal,” said Alvarez.
Eddie Alvarez also apologized to his opponent and sent him his best wishes. The Underground King lastly added that he hopes everyone gets to go back home safely to their families and also sent his prayers for his opponent.
“The referee’s here, whatever call he makes, that’s the call. I apologize. I hope Iuri is totally fine cause this game is so dangerous. All I care about is that everybody in here sincerely is safe and can go home to their family when they’re done. I’m praying for Iuri right now,” said Alvarez.
You can see his emotional response below.
Eddie Alvarez's return fight didn't go according to plan
This was Eddie Alvarez's first fight since August of 2019. However, the bout certainly didn't turn out the way he would've hoped for after a very controversial finish.
The former UFC champion could be hoping for a quick return to the cage and get back in action once again after his unsuccessful comeback fight on TNT.
