Eddie Alvarez remains one of the most accomplished combat sports athletes of all time but his time throwing punches for money may be coming to an end soon.
With BKFC set to return to Philadelphia for KnuckleMania VI on Feb. 7, Alvarez was immediately one of the first fighters to come to mind as a potential headliner for the card considering he’s arguably the biggest local favorite among fighters since Sylvester Stallone was playing Rocky Balboa. But after suffering a broken jaw in his fight against Jeremy Stephens in his most recent appearance in BKFC back in January, it appears the former UFC and Bellator champion might not compete again.
“Eddie Alvarez is not part of the plan for this one,” BKFC president David Feldman told MMA Fighting. “I think we may have seen the last of Eddie Alvarez but you never know.
“He told me if I wanted him to get on the card, I had to go meet his wife and talk to her. I’m not doing that! She beat up too many promoter in the past. I’m not doing that.”
At 41, Alvarez has accomplished just about everything possible during a career that dates back to 2003 when he made his professional fighting debut. He conquered Bellator MMA and became the face of that promotion after it first launched before eventually making the move to the UFC in free agency.
Alvarez became lightweight champion with a stunning performance to knock out Rafael dos Anjos in 2016. He eventually left the UFC to sing a deal to join the roster at ONE Championship but his time there only lasted for four fights before he was freed to pursue a new endeavor.
That led Alvarez to signing with BKFC where he immediately engaged in a memorable war with fellow UFC veteran Chad Mendes. Alvarez got the win that night but then fell to Mike Perry in his second appearance in the bare-knuckle promotion before suffering the loss to Stephens back in January.
While Alvarez may not fight for BKFC any longer, Feldman promises that he still wants “The Underground King” to remain part of the promotion for years to come.
“He’s going to bring some fighters down that he’s training, he’s going to come out to the tryouts next week that we have,” Feldman said. “He’s going to be a part of BKFC in Philly and really worldwide, Eddie Alvarez will be.”
Feldman added that the hope is that Alvarez continues to operate almost in an ambassador’s role if he decides his fighting career is over because he brings so much value to the sport.
Add to that, Alvarez is an incredibly well-liked fighter and person and that only increases how much BKFC wants to keep him around whether he’s competing or not.
“He’s nice. People like him here,” Feldman said. “He’s not just one of those arrogant guys that nobody likes. Everybody loves Eddie Alvarez here. He’s definitely a hometown hero here. We’re going remain to keep him a part of this thing.
“I like him very much. I like his whole family and everything that he’s building up there at his training facility in northeast Philadelphia. It’s great just to have him involved in the evolution of this sport really here in Philadelphia, the tri-state area we call it, and really worldwide.”
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