Bellator lightweight champ Eddie Alvarez (22-2) defended his 155 pound title for the first time at Bellator 39, Saturday night. He faced season two tournament winner Pat Curran in the main event on the MTV2 live broadcast. Alvarez had stated previously to the bout that he’d look to finish his opponent, but Curran was able to stick it out for 25 minutes leaving the champ with a unanimous decision victory.
In this interview with Sherdog.com, Alvarez explains his frustrations at not being able to finish Curran and answering the critics concerning his status as a top lightweight.
“I didn’t get the finish…I pride myself on trying to get the finish, I didn’t tonight. Pat (Curran) came to fight, a lot of people didn’t give him the time of day and thought that I’d get him out of there pretty quick. To be honest, I thought I’d be able to catch him early. I was laying in some really good body shots, really good head shots, and the fact is, he just stuck in there.”