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Eddie Alvarez, the 24-year-old Philadelphia, PA native, formerly ranked No. 7 in the world at lightweight by Top Gun MMA and a one time BodogFight champion has been referred to as the best American-born fighter not fighting in the United States by the Bleacher Report.
The DREAM Lightweight Grand Prix being held in Japan was the opportunity of a lifetime to finally make a name for himself on a grand stage.
However, it turns out it was not meant to be.
Regardless, the 24-year-old Philadelphia, PA native, formerly ranked No. 7 in the world at lightweight by Top Gun MMA, did not disappoint. He rattled off consecutive victories over former No. 50 ranked Andrei Amade and former No. 22 ranked Joachim Hansen in the first two rounds of the grand prix.
In the tournament semifinals, he faced the toughest test of his career taking on former No. 14 ranked Tatsuya Kawajiri. This was a back and forth battle until Alvarez hit Kawajiri with a second round flurry causing the referee to intervene and save Kawajiri from any further severe damage.
It was a gutsy performance by Alvarez and a ticket to face the winner of the other semifinal in No. 1 ranked Shinya Aoki for the championship.
Ahhh...but there was a problem. Alvarez sustained damage to his eye against Kawajiri, and it was almost swollen shut after the fight. Joachim Hansen, who Alvarez had previously beaten in the tournament, took his place and subsequently upset Aoki to take home the championship.
The DREAM card pretty much got lost in a landscape of more heavily promoted events this past weekend - not to mention news of Rampage Jackson's mental health evaluation.
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Tyrone Black, Gambling911.com
Originally published July 21, 2008 8:32 pm EST
