Eddie Alvarez Accuses Michael Chandler of Ducking long-Awaited Trilogy Bout: ‘I’ve been trying to fight him’
Eddie Alvarez is still hoping to complete his trilogy with ‘Iron’ Michael Chandler.
When looking back at the greatest fights in Bellator MMA history, the November 2011 clash between Alvarez and Chandler will sit pretty high on that list, if not at the very top. Squaring off for the lightweight world title, the high-octane fan favorites delivered an edge-of-your-seat scrap that saw both men narrowly finish one another multiple times. In the end, Chandler walked away with the win via a rear-naked choke submission with less than two minutes to go in the contest.
They ran it back two years later at Bellator 106 with ‘The Underground King’ scoring a closely contested split decision.
With the series even at 1-1, fight fans were convinced that a trilogy bout was right around the corner. A decade later, we’re still waiting.
Eddie Alvarez left Bellator shortly after for the greener pastures of the UFC where he would go on to capture their lightweight title. Chandler would stick it out in Bellator for another seven years before exiting the promotion to make his own run in the Las Vegas-based promotion. By then, Alvarez had already moved on from the Octagon, signing with ONE Championship.
During a recent interview, Alvarez revealed that he had hopes of shopping around a trilogy fight with Chandler while they were both free agents until his longtime foe ghosted him.
“He’s interested in Conor [McGregor]. The last thing that guy wants to do is fight me,” Alvarez told Morning Kombat of Chandler. “I’ve been trying to fight him. Wherever I go, he goes later on (laughs).
“I called Mike Chandler directly when we were both free agents and I pitched him the idea of me and him walking in the office together and selling our third fight to every promotion and seeing who paid us the most,” he continued. “I think that would have been the most beneficial for both of us. He agreed with me. He thought it was a great idea. I never heard from him again” (h/t MMA Mania).
Today, Eddie Alvarez calls the squared circle home after signing with Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship earlier this year. In his promotional debut, ‘The Underground King’ scored a split decision victory over Chad Mendes. On December 2, he is scheduled to toe the line with ‘Platinum’ Mike Perry to crown the first ever BKFC ‘King of Violence’ champion.
Meanwhile, Michael Chandler is still sitting on the sidelines waiting for his fight with Conor McGregor to come together.
