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Not gonna lie, when Eddie Alvarez got put on his back and started eating hard shots from Eduard Folayang, I was convinced that was a wrap. Not just for his lightweight grand prix run, but for his mixed martial arts (MMA) career, as well.
Then, the 35 year-old “Underground King” swept the hometown hero and took his back, winning by rear-naked choke midway through the opening round. The ONE: “Dawn of Heroes” victory snapped a two-fight losing streak in which he was finished twice.
Alvarez (30-7, 1 NC) was eliminated from the tournament after Timofey Nastyukhin put him out to pasture last March; however, the Russian bruiser was recently felled by injury and bounced from the grand prix, paving the way for Alvarez to return.
His next fight may be his most dangerous to date, at least outside the UFC cage, as Alvarez will be paired off against 24 year-old knockout machine Saygid Guseyn Arslanaliev (8-1) at ONE: “Century” on Oct. 13 in Tokyo, Japan.
For complete ONE Championship “Dawn of Heroes” results and live play-by-play click here.