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Although Eddie Alvarez was pleased with his choice to join ONE Championship, he has decided to make an effort to leave the organization amicably as his contract and career come to an end.
Alvarez previously disclosed that he and ONE Championship were successful in doing so, but he remained vague as to why until now. On Wednesday's broadcast of The MMA Hour, he said that he wants to complete his career in his own nation.
“The contract was coming to an end, and I spoke with my agent and I told him, ‘I would like my career to finish up in the United States.’ And when we originally sat down with ONE, the idea was that [they] would progressively move to the U.S.,” Alvarez said on The MMA Hour. “The plan was to have fights in Asia, and then my idea in my head was I would start in Asia, and towards the end of my contract, we would move closer to the U.S. and eventually get a fight there.
“Unfortunately, the pandemic threw a wrench into all of those plans and slowed the progression of that up by a lot.
“I’m going to more than likely be signing my last contract, and I just want to be fighting here in the United States,” Alvarez continued. “I really want and need to fight in the United States to finish my career here.”
“The Underground King” left the UFC following a second-round TKO loss to Dustin Poirier at UFC on FOX 30 in July 2018.
Before that, Alvarez and former Bellator president Bjorn Rebney engaged in a very publicized argument. Alvarez claims that no bridges were destroyed in terms of his connection with ONE.
“One-hundred percent [we’re on good terms],” Alvarez explained. “I’ve only had one bad split with one company, and it was public. Everybody knew about it. I never want to be involved in anything like that again. I never did ever since then, and I don’t think I ever will. I’m an adult. I know the sport, I know the business. I try to add value to whatever promotion I go to. The people that I sign with, they know that. Besides the one promotion, I never really had a reason to butt heads with anybody.”
Alvarez claims he has meetings scheduled with "all of the major personalities" for promotions starting in early October, so that's where he may end up.
Alvarez, 38, would be open to joining the PFL, which is one organization that appears to be the choice among the MMA world. This is mainly because he likes the season format.
Alvarez would be more than delighted to return to the UFC and Bellator, two American organizations that he helped grow, even though that would give his professional resume a new coat of paint.
“Yes [I would return to the UFC],” Alvarez said. “Yeah [I would go back to Bellator]. My messy divorce was with Bjorn Rebney, it wasn’t with Scott Coker. I was freed by Scott Coker.
“My issue was never with Bellator the name — I had a spat with the president and that president got fired.
“But as long as there’s big fights and big names involved in that company, I’ll more than likely say yes and keep my options open.”
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