Eddie Alvarez Talks About Disastrous ONE Championship Debut This Weekend

Former UFC champ Eddie Alvarez left the Octagon for ONE Championship, but when he made his debut in the Asia-based promotion this past weekend, it was… um, disastrous.

Essentially, Alvarez got smashed in less than a round.

These things, of course, happen in the sport. Especially when the opponent is a Russian hard-ass Timofey Nastyukhin. Yesterday, Alvarez re-emerged from his zone of silence and posted a statement to Instagram. He admitted he had some trouble pulling the trigger, and that it’s a problem that cost him. But the biggest takeaway was OH MY GOD THAT EYE.

Nastyukhin (what a great name) pretty much splattered Alvarez’s eye with a punch. Seeing that, yeah, it’s totally understandable why Alvarez was done fighting at that point.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

Hey guys First and foremost congrats to Timofey in his victory , He is very deserving of everything that comes with victory and I wish him the best in the continued tournament . Honestly speaking how I fought my One Championship debut is not a reflection of my training my coaches , my team , it’s not even a reflection of my beliefs . I am sincerely disappointed and confused in my inability to not pull the trigger and my hesitancy on recent fight nights , it’s been quite confusing to figure out the past year or so . Coach Mark always stresses “hesitancy is Death” and it’s not something that is even in my character to do . In this particular fight I waited too long for an opening and paid the ultimate price . The punch that hit me , instantly blinded me and split both eyelids in half . It felt like my eye exploded from the inside and the pain was instant . From an outsider watching myself I should of have expected the result considering my actions . You have to punch , kick , takedown and pressure to win a fight , I waited . I simply waited too long for the correct timing and opening that never came . Fighting continues to teach me life lessons thru my victories and even more through tough defeats . Victory and defeat are by products of putting it on the line , they have been inescapable throughout my whole life . I hope to be judged on how I adjust and pivot from defeat and behave in victory rather than the result of a small moment in time . To my Wife /kids family , coaches , teams mates , friends and to all the fans , thank you always for your continued support , doing this is very lonely and isolated , a simple pat on the back goes a long long way . Thank you thank you thank you . I will make adjustments and come back true to form #UGK

A post shared by Eddie Alvarez (@ealvarezfight) on Apr 2, 2019 at 10:12am PDT