About three weeks ago, EliteXC lent out its up and coming lightweight star, Eddie Alvarez, to the Japanese promotion DREAM so he could compete in a 16-man lightweight grand prix tournament.
EliteXC allows most of their fighters to compete outside their organization, probably because more exposure can’t be a bad thing for any fighter. So Eddie was shipped overseas to represent the promotion in a tournament that they knew a lot of people would be watching … or at least paying attention to.
Alvarez did not disappoint, stopping Andre “Dida” Amade in the first round with strikes. The fight was not only impressive for Eddie because of the level of competition, but he was fighting a long way from home, really on the big stage for the first time in his career, and he dominated.
That left five possible candidates for a round two opponent: Tatsuya Kawajiri, Joachim Hansen, Katsuhiko Nagata, Luiz Firmino or Mitsuhiro Ishida. All very good fighters and any one of which would provide a solid fight and test for Alvarez.
It was recently announced it would be “Hellboy” Hansen and the fight would take place at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan, on May 11.
Hellboy made his way in the quarterfinals by defeating Kotetsu Boku in a unanimous decision. He’s a six-fight Pride FC veteran and holds wins over Yves Edwards, Caol Uno and Takanori Gomi to name a few. He is considered by a lot of people in the MMA world to be a top 10 lightweight fighter.
Alvarez will have his hands full for sure. This is a big step up in competition for him. Plus Hellboy is used to fighting on the big stage in Japan — he’s got a little bit of home court advantage.
I’d say Hansen has the advantage on paper because of his experience, but Alvarez is a Philadelphia fighter with a lot of heart. He’s going to Japan to win, regardless of the opponent. This fight is going to be an absolute war.
I can’t wait.
This is what a tournament like this is all about, two fighters who fight on opposite ends of the globe, in different organizations, who might not have ever fought each other. Kudos to EliteXC for allowing their fighter to compete.
It really makes it worth it for the fans.
14 Comments »
If Alvarez wins, or even makes it to the finals, it would be great for future tournaments. I think that after seeing the star power Alvarez would gain from such a major accomplishment, other organizations would be more eager to get their fighters in the DREAM events as well.
gilbert melendez was going to be in the DREAM grand prix if he didn’t fight lemley who replaced marcello who replaced masvidal in the last strikeforce event. i suspect they’re forcing him to defend his belt.
another guy in the dream grand prix that i’m looking out for is ishida cuz he tainted gilbert melendez’s perfect record by ud. i didn’t see the fight but want to know how good he is n will be rooting against him.
i’d give this one to hellboy just off experience and familiarity mostly although alvarez did come out with a ton of energy and looked really good finishing amade so quickly.
jz will take the whole thing. he has the sickest standup of all these guys and he ends fights quick. he’ll finish aoki in the 1st minute next fight.
Well apparently eddie trains with JZ and it leaked out that eddie beats jz up pretty bad on the feet in sparring, go check sherdog search function there are pro fighters on there that talk about it. Eddie has better standup than JZ.
Sweet fight. I love Hansen, but tough matchup.
The japaneese always want to pit foreign figthers against one another so there could be a japaneese fighter in the finals of their tournaments. I hate that, i hope Dream and World Victory fail like pride, im sure they are run by the Japanneese Mob like pride was. I seen almost all pride events and Japaneese figthers are just good at taking a beating. Plus im still mad Gilbert Melendez got robbed in his last fight against Ishida, that was bullshit, clear favoritism to the japaneese fighter.
Ps. yeah i know i can’t spell Japan.
Totally agree. That’s the first thing I thought when I saw the matchup.
WAR HELLBOY!
Wow, great fight. I hope Alvarez wwins, but I think Hansen will.
Eddie Alvarez is really making a name for himself rather quickly in the MMA world. I first seen him fight in BoDog and instantly knew that this kid can bring it. Aaron Riley is a tough dude that fought in the UFC several times, even with a broken jaw. Alvarez KO’d him in just over 1 minute.
Then just a couple months back, he made his EliteXC, well ShoXC debut, and he again, did not dissapoint.
Now he is representing the US in that DREAM LW Grand Prix. Props to Gary Shaw for allowing him to fight in it.
Yeah EliteXC deserves props for allowing their fighters to compete in Japan. I wish that the UFC would consider this. The UFC should just make their contracts exclusive only in the USA, that way it will cripple the growth of EliteXC, strikeforce and all the other American upstart mma organizations, while still alowing their fighters to compete in JAPAN. They could add a clause that states if you hold a UFC title, you can not fight outside the UFC as long as oyu hold that title.
Lets be real, the UFC has millions of fans, the majority of which are not Die Hards like us on this site. If the UFC would allow a fighter or 2 to enter a Japanease tournament and the UFC fighter looses, the majority of the UFC fans wouldnt even know about it, so how could it even hurt? It would actually benefit the UFC because it would make the UFC a more attractive destination for Japanease stars or fighters like FEDor and Cro Cop who have huge followings in Japan.
As for Eddie Alvarez: This guy is a beast, and I am not just saying that because I am a fellow Philadelphian. Keep in mind he was originally a welterweight, who is cutting weight to compete in the Lightweight Grand Prix. I dont think too many fighters in that grand prix are cutting weight, so Eddie will probably be bigger and stronger then anyone he fights,which is an advantage. Hellboy vs. Alverez is going to be an awesome fight and I for one, am not counting Eddie out. I am a big fan of Hellboy as well. How could you not love his personality or fighting style? he just drops people and walks away like nothing even happened.
The 2nd round of the tournament should be very amazing. Hopefully by May 11, HDNET starts broadcasting DREAM events. Either way, I will not miss 1 fight of this grand prix, and it will be very prestigious for the winner!
I call Alvarez by intimidation due to massive eyebrows.
Eddie’s in for a tough fight, but he’s from Philly and he knows how to adjust and he’s going stop Hellboy by breaking his jaw…Do your thing Eddie!
Its gonna be a tough fight for Hansen, but he is always prepared and in great shape. There are tough guys from Oslo, not just in Piladelphia where Alvares is from. I hope and believe that Hansen knocks Alvares out early in the first round. Go Hansen
Congratulations to Eddie Alvarez, he did a great fight and the win was ok. Awesome fight by both fighters. Hansen showed the whole world his big heart for fighting.