UFC Rumour Mill: Eddie Alvarez may soon join ONE FC

What’s the story?

According to the latest update by an MMA journalist, the former UFC lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez is in talks with Singapore based ONE FC and is very close to a deal.

In case you didn't know...

Alvarez is an American mixed martial artist who is currently a free agent. He formerly competed in the UFC and is the former UFC Lightweight Champion. Alvarez is also a former two-time Bellator Lightweight Champion.

He has also competed for the Japanese DREAM promotion, where he made his name in their inaugural Lightweight Grand Prix

Alvarez made his first title defense against the then UFC Featherweight champion Conor McGregor on November 12, 2016, at UFC 205 in Madison Square Garden in New York City.

He lost the historic fight via TKO in the second round, after being outstruck in the first round. Alvarez was the coach on The Ultimate Fighter 26 against former WSOF Lightweight Champion Justin Gaethje.

The bout with Gaethje took place at UFC 218. He won the fight via knockout in the third round. The fight earned both participants the Fight of the Night bonus award. In the last fight of his current contract, Alvarez faced Dustin Poirier in a rematch in the main event at UFC on Fox. He lost the fight via TKO in the second round.

The heart of the matter

As per the report by Tarso Doria, The " Underground King" Eddie Alvarez has no plan to return to the UFC, nor does he wish to fight for Bellator or Rizin CF. The former Champ prefers to compete in Singapore based ONE FC for the rest of his career.

Eddie Alvarez and ONE Championship seems to be getting close to a deal. The Asian Giant is going heavy on the negotiations, battling UFC's and Bellator's offers. Looks like ONE wants Eddie to be part of the japanese expasion in 2019, sources tell me.

— Tarso Doria (@TarsoDoria) September 24, 2018

The loss to Poirier was a setback for Alvarez as it shows the 35-year-old veteran is no longer a top fighter at 155 pounds. The UFC lightweight division is stacked, and he doesn’t have time to put together another good streak to even try and get those fights.

What's next?

If the rumors are real, ONE FC and Eddie has come to a consensus and he will begin fighting under the promotion's banner during early 2019.