Former UFC lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez has announced that he’s moving on from the UFC and has now signed for Asian promotion ONE FC.
It’s believed that Alvarez received offers from both the UFC and Bellator after his current deal came to an end, but ultimately he opted to turn to pastures new instead overseas.
“The moment of truth has arrived,” Alvarez said in the video. “I know you’ve heard the rumors. They’re true. We got our contract from [ONE Championship] and we’re all signed up…This couldn’t have went any smoother. It didn’t take too long, everyone is happy and I’m super excited. The Underground King is coming to ONE.”
The 34-year-old had only won once in his last four fights in the UFC since winning the title back in November. That victory over Rafael dos Anjos for the belt was followed by a TKO loss to Conor McGregor, before a no-contest ruling was handed out in his next fight due to landing illegal knees against Dustin Poirier.
Alvarez then went on to defeat Justin Gaethje by KO, but a rematch with Poirier resulted in a TKO stoppage in what would prove to be his final UFC outing, leaving him with 4-3 (+1nc) record in the promotion and a 29-6 (+1nc) career run so far.
“I am thrilled to announce that multiple-time world champion Eddie Alvarez will be joining ONE Championship on a multiple-bout contract,” ONE FC’s Chatri Sityodtong wrote in a press release. “Eddie is one of the world’s best martial artists in the world, and is no doubt a tremendous addition to the ONE roster. The ONE Championship roster is incredibly deep with talents such as Shinya Aoki, Eduard Folayang, and Amir Khan, among others. I am excited to have Eddie in that mix and to see some amazing matchups and performances. This is no doubt one of the biggest athlete signings in the history of ONE Championship.”
