Former Bellator lightweight champ Eddie ‘The Silent Assassin’ Alvarez (22-3) saw his seven fight win streak stopped by Michael Chandler last November in a fourth round submission loss which also saw Alvarez lose his title.
Alvarez tells “The MMA Show with Mauro Ranallo” that he had been looking for an immediate rematch with Chandler but was turned down by Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney. His only option was to re-enter next seasons tournament if he wanted to regain his title.
Instead of doing that, Alvarez is taking a different route and is looking to pit himself against some of the worlds top fighters. He is tentatively booked to face DREAM champ Shinya Aoki in a rematch, saying he’s signed the papers and is waiting for Aoki to sign to make it official.
“I was a little upset about the whole thing. I thought the promotion would have my back. I didn’t even hear I wouldn’t get the rematch until I heard it through the media… ”
“I’ve worked nine years in my career to get where I am. I’ve earned the right to fight guys in the top five, the top 10,” he said. “The reality of it is I can’t become No. 1 by fighting the guys in Bellator’s tournament, not even by beating Michael Chandler again — that’s more of a pride thing. I already went through a tournament (Bellator’s inaugural season one lightweight bracket) and became champion. I didn’t make a lot of title defences because I was waiting for the tournaments to unfold.
“I get a slack from the internet from people saying I haven’t fought people in the top 10. It’s nothing I can do — it’s a matter of getting guys in the promotion, getting guys to sign. Everyone in the top 10 is signed to another promotion so it’s hard to get your hands on a guy that’s ranked up there so instead you have to fight a lot of unranked opponents, and in the case of Bellator, there’s a lot of tough unranked opponents so you take a risk.”
“I already signed the contract for Aoki. We’re waiting for Aoki to sign. I believe he will sign it and I’m keeping my fingers crossed,” Alvarez said. “I’ve been asking Bjorn for that fight for a long time since I’ve been Bellator champion and I hope to get it. I just want to fight in big fights. Aoki’s finally a guy who’s ranked in the top of my weight class.”
Alvarez has also become the latest addition to the Florida based Blackzilian team, telling host Mauro Ranallo about the change in gyms. The Blackzilians also recently signed another high profile fighter in former Strikeforce heavyweight champ, and current UFC No. 1 contender Alistair Overeem.
The bout between Alvarez and Chandler was certainly one of the best fights of 2011, but was overshadowed by the Dan Henderson vs. Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua match taking place on the same evening.
Also featured on Monday’s “The MMA Show” are UFC welterweight Josh Koscheck, UFC heavyweight Dave Herman, Blackzilian coach Mike Van Arsdale, and AKA coach ‘Crazy’ Bob Cook. Michael Bisping had been scheduled to appear but phone issues cut the interview very short.