ONE Championship: Eddie Alvarez ‘doesn’t care’ about Michael Chandler; wants Christian Lee title shot in 2020
- Former UFC champ ‘almost positive’ he’ll fight before year’s end in the US, with ONE lightweight champ Lee only bout he’s interested in
- A trilogy bout against free agent Chandler has been mooted but Alvarez says ‘I don’t care about him … my goal is set on champions’
You’d be hard-pressed to find anyone who has a deeper understanding of being an elite-level MMA fighter than Eddie Alvarez.
He came up fighting in Japan. He was nicknamed “The Underground King”. His fight with Conor McGregor was the fourth highest-grossing UFC pay-per-view of all time. He became world champion in the UFC and Bellator. Now 36 years old and competing in ONE Championship, he is absolutely clear about what comes next.
“I want to get to that world title. I want to beat the guys in front of me. And if I don’t get a title shot next, I’ll take the title shot next. I’ve fought everybody in the world. If you’re a champion or you’re the best in the world I’ve probably fought you or probably tried to fight you.
“I just want to fight the champions. Whoever has a belt around their waist I wanna get in their face and I want an opportunity to win the belt so that’s where my focus is and that’s where my energy lies.”
To add this new accolade in a career full of them, he will almost certainly have to overcome Christian Lee.
The ONE lightweight champ, whose sister rules the atomweight division, is a 22-year-old phenom who has taken his game up another level in his past four fights. Lee told SCMP MMA he wants a bout with Alvarez – a man he sees as a legend – so it seems this talented pair of warriors at opposite ends of their careers are destined to meet sooner or later.
