Scott Coker Expresses Interest In Eddie Alvarez Bellator Return

Eddie Alvarez could potentially return to Bellator MMA.

“The Underground King” has developed an amazing mixed martial arts (MMA) career over the years. Alvarez has been fighting professionally since December of 2003. In his time as a fighter, he has fought for both Bellator MMA and the UFC.

Alvarez signed with Bellator MMA back in 2009. He even competed on Bellator 1 and defeated Greg Loughran in the quarterfinals of a lightweight tournament. He’d go on to become the promotion’s first 155-pound champion of all-time.

After a successful run that lasted about five years, Alvarez finally signed with the UFC in September of 2014. Alvarez’s relationship with Bjorn Rebney’s Bellator brass, as they engaged in a lawsuit in regards to his contract status, was extremely poor.

Upon signing with the UFC, Alvarez saw great success inside the Octagon. He earned wins over the likes of Gilbert Melendez, Anthony “Showtime” Pettis, and Rafael dos Anjos. The latter earned him the UFC lightweight title.

He even participated in the main event of the UFC’s first MMA event from Madison Square Garden. Alvarez headlined opposite arguably MMA’s biggest star of all-time, Conor McGregor, in a lightweight title defense. Despite losing, Alvarez earned a lot of notoriety from the platform.

Alvarez recently fought out the last fight on his previous UFC deal. He was defeated by Dustin Poirier via second-round TKO. If allowed to hit the open market after a potential exclusive negotiations clause, Alvarez would instantly become one of the hottest free agents in MMA.

Bellator MMA President Scott Coker joined Luke Thomas on The MMA Hour to discuss the situation. He admitted that, if legally allowed, he’d “love” to talk to Alvarez about a potential Bellator return (quotes via MMA Fighting):

“I don’t think we’ve talked to Eddie, but listen, if he wants to reach out and have a conversation and he’s truly a free agent and we’re not interfering in anybody’s contract, we would love to talk to him,” Coker said.

“I think the guy has done a lot of good work in building his brand here in the U.S. Obviously, he’s had some great fights with Michael Chandler here in the past. We want to talk to every free agent out there that’s a big star, and I think Eddie is still a big star.”

Should Coker ink Alvarez to a deal in the future, it wouldn’t be the first time the promotion has lured fighters away from the UFC. In recent years Bellator has landed fighters such as Rory MacDonald, Gegard Mousasi, Benson Henderson, Phil Davis and many more:

“There’s somebody here, there’s somebody there,” Coker said. “It’s not like there’s hundreds or even 10s and 20s of athletes.

“It’s more of, there’s a big star here or a big star here or a medium star there. But they’re out there and we’ve been plucking them away one by one. And we’re gonna keep shopping and we’re gonna keep growing this roster.”