Former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez, who signed with ONE Championship back in October of 2018, has landed a spot in the promotion’s upcoming lightweight world grand prix semifinals.
That’s because Timofey Nastyukhin was bounced from the tournament due to injury, creating an open slot for “The Underground King,” despite a first-round technical knockout loss to Russian bruiser last March.
Alvarez (29-7) will be paired off against former ONE lightweight champion and fellow semifinalist Eduard Folayang on Aug. 2 in the Philippines. “Landslide” (21-7) is also looking to get back into the win column after getting submitted by PRIDE legend Shinya Aoki at ONE: “A New Era.”
“August 2nd I am going to finish Eduard Folayang in Manila at ONE Championship,” Alvarez wrote on social media. “And it will not be before I claim the ONE Championship title.”
The winner of Alvarez vs. Folayang moves on to face Turkish destroyer Saygid Guseyn Arslanaliev in the grand prix finals later this year.