Eddie Alvarez considers himself a fighter who always lives up to the occasion and he has the championship belts to prove it.
But as he prepares to headline the first ever BKFC card in his native Philadelphia on Jan. 25, the 40-year-old veteran is still haunted by arguably his worst night at the office when he last fought close to home. Back in 2016, Alvarez was the reigning UFC lightweight champion and he was set to defend that belt in the first ever UFC event in New York City with a showdown against Conor McGregor at UFC 205.
What could have been his crowning achievement turned into his greatest nightmare after Alvarez was outclassed on the feet and ultimately finished with strikes in the second round as McGregor claimed “champ-champ” status by becoming the first fighter in UFC history to hold two titles simultaneously.
“There’s been one time and everybody knows the Conor fight where I went into somewhat near my hometown and I didn’t show up,” Alvarez told MMA Fighting. “That was probably the one time that really shocked even myself.
“Because throughout my entire career, home or anywhere nearby, whenever that spotlight’s on me and whenever the stakes are big, that’s when I show up big.”
Alvarez hasn’t actually fought at home in Philadelphia in over 14 years, but he spent much of his early career competing close by in places like Atlantic City, N.J., when MMA still wasn’t legal in Pennsylvania.
The chance to headline the debut UFC card in New York City almost felt like a homecoming but even now, more than eight years later, Alvarez still laments his poor showing that night.
That’s perhaps the biggest reason why Alvarez is determined to dazzle his hometown audience when he clashes with Jeremy Stephens in a bare-knuckle fight in January.
“I’ll be able to make it up to my Philadelphia fans,” Alvarez said. “Look, I got my shot at Madison Square Garden. I hated the way I performed. I hated everything about it. But there’s only stadium better than Madison Square Garden and that’s the Well Fargo in Philadelphia.
“I fought all over the world, Russia, Japan, Tokyo, Costa Rica, all over and during these moments I may have had a hiccup or something like that but in my hometown, Atlantic City, Philadelphia, New York, all these places, I usually show up big. I’m looking forward to feeling the spirit of the Philadelphia fans behind me at the Wells Fargo on the 25th of January.”
Because Alvarez is finally getting the opportunity to compete at home again, he’s already been bombarded about the possibility of winning and then calling it a career afterwards.
Considering everything he’s already accomplished, Alvarez has nothing left to prove but as much as it might seem like the perfect ending to retire in Philadelphia, don’t expect him to make that call after his fight against Stephens.
“It’d be completely storybook but I don’t think there is any right, perfect way to go out,” Alvarez said. “I’m going to be honest with you, I just don’t think there is. I think because it would be saying that one fight would determine your entire career. You can’t do that. One fight will never sum up who I am, whether I won or lost it. You can never say that was one big win, you should go now or that was one big loss, you should go now. I’m defined by the sum of 20 years of fighting and what I’ve done and the kind of work I’ve put into this. You can never sum it up by one fight anyways.
“So yes, going into the Wells Fargo, shutting it down at the Wells Fargo, 18,000 screaming fans, it would be an absolute storybook to do it at home. But I’ll never be defined by one fight. One win, one loss, I’ll always be looked at as someone who challenged himself, traveled the entire world looking for the baddest motherf*ckers to fight and try to become world champion in whatever promotion I was with. That’s what I want to be defined by. Not just one singular fight, one singular outing.”
Truth be told, Alvarez still feels great and he’s been rejuvenated by his fresh start with BKFC where he’s been treated great and now he gets the chance to fight in his hometown again.
He also just recently opened a new training facility where Alvarez hopes to train a future UFC champion so he’s leading by example with what he’s still doing in his own career.
While he certainly knows he can’t fight forever, Alvarez isn’t going to make any rash decision before or after his next appearance and he’ll just wait until a later date to see what might be next for him.
“I started when I was 19. I’m 20, 21 years into this game. I’ve kept myself healthy,” Alvarez said. “Steroid free my entire career. I think that’s given me longevity. I never had a college wrestling career. That’s given me more career longevity. I’ve taken care of my body. If I had injuries, I would listen to my body and kind of peel back. I wouldn’t fight through injuries.
“There’s a couple of things I’ve done differently than a lot of regular fighters that allow me to fight so long and have the career I’ve had. So I just kind of keep things open, allows me to fight as long as I have.”
