‘The Last Thing That Guy Wants To Do Is Fight Me’

Eddie Alvarez is still hopeful for a potential trilogy bout with his old rival Michael Chandler.

The pair of former multiple-time Bellator Lightweight champions provided the mixed martial arts (MMA) world with two of the most memorable bouts fight fans have ever seen during their time in the now-PFL-owned promotion. Alvarez and Chandler quickly became synonymous with each other, colliding after the Bellator season 4 Lightweight tournament where Chandler earned his title shot with a unanimous decision over Patricky “Pitbull” Freire. As a result, Alvarez and Chandler delivered one of the greatest fights of all time, if not the greatest.

Then an undefeated 8-0, Chandler pulled off the monster upset, finishing Alvarez via a fourth round rear-naked choke, following a chaotic first handful of rounds. They’d meet in a rematch two years later before Alvarez got the last laugh by split decision, parting ways with the promotion for Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). They were never in the latter organization at the same time, but before Chandler signed, they were testing free agency at the same time, providing Alvarez with a proposition for their trilogy he never heard back on.

“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.”

Chandler, 37, currently sits patiently awaiting his expected match up with McGregor after coaching opposite each other on The Ultimate Fighter 31 (TUF). Coincidentally, Alvarez is the last man McGregor defeated at Lightweight, scoring a second round technical knockout in their UFC 205 title fight in Nov. 2016. Meanwhile, the 39-year-old “Underground King” Alvarez is gearing up for his second bout in bare-knuckle boxing when he faces Mike Perry in Salt Lake City, Utah at BKFC 56 next weekend (Sat., Dec. 2, 2023).