By FCF Staff Photo Courtesy Bellator Fighting Championship
Philadelphia’s Liacouras Center will host what is arguably, Bellator Fighting Championship’s biggest fight to date tonight, as the promotion’s lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez will face renowned UFC vet Roger Huerta, in a non-title affair.(Pictured above: Alvarez (l) and Huerta)
Alvarez (20-2) heads into the bout having won four straight; in May, the Dream veteran submitted Josh Neer in the second round of their non-title bout.
Huerta (21-4-1) has gone 1-1 since signing with Bellator earlier this year. After submitting Chad Hinton in the third round of their Bellator 13 fight in April, Huerta lost by unanimous decision to Pat Curran at Bellator 17 in May. The veteran fighter was brought into face Alvarez, after the lightweight tourney winner Curran was unable to fight for the title, due to an injury.
Here is some of what Alvarez and Huerta had to say about tonight’s match-up, in a press release sent out from the promotion.
Eddie Alvarez:
On his homecoming to Philadelphia:
Roger Huerta, Philadelphia, October 21st…This is a dream fight for me. Right here in my hometown, I couldn't ask for anything more. The only times I've ever lost have been outside of the United States. I've never even lost a fight here in the states so I'm definitely not going to start in my hometown of Philadelphia with all of my people there. That's not going to happen. Not a chance. Roger is a great fighter and I love this fight but my fight is never with my opponents. It's more about me. I'm not going to be happy unless I completely control and dominate Roger in this fight. It's important for me to go in there and dominate this fight and prove that I'm one of the best lightweights in the world. I've fought a lot of guys that supposedly had "iron chins" and almost every time, they're the guys I put away.
On finishing the fight:
My intentions will be to finish this fight, especially in my hometown. I want to make sure I give them what they paid for. I know I can fight. I know I'm one of the top lightweights in the world, and I know I can finish my opponents -- whoever they put in front of me. I'm never going to leave the cage with any regrets.
On beating any lightweight in the world right now:
Yeah, on any given night. I do. I honestly do. I feel like there's not a lightweight out there that I can't beat. This is something I've been looking for. This is something the fans have wanted to see for a long time now. I don't care where you fought in the past, but if you come to my promotion and you have a big name and you're obviously marketable, and the promotion signs you, they're obviously trying to make moves. If I don't feel threatened by that, then I'm an idiot. I definitely feel threatened with someone like Roger trying to come in. I'm going to do everything I can to protect what's mine and get him out of there. I want to finish him and I want him out of there. I don't want Bellator trying to sell him or market him. I want to keep all eyes on me. I'm going to go out there and do my job. This is how I get paid.
On training:
Losing to Curran put the fire back into my training and completely revived my hunger for competition. I respect Eddie for all of his accomplishments in the sport. I believe that he's one of the best lightweights in the world, if not the best.
On his fight with Eddie:
This is the biggest fight of my entire career. I believe that I'm one of the best fighters in the world and being matched up with Eddie will bring the best out of me. When I beat Eddie, I'll show that I'm one of the best in the world too. I've lost a lot of close decisions and they're all very heart breaking for me every time. I just can not leave it in the judge’s hands. Nobody can. Those hard decisions have taught me to try to finish my fights. This is a fight that I've always wanted. This is a dream come true. I didn't think it was going to happen and all of a sudden, here it is. It's not for a title but the title doesn't matter as much to me as the challenge. Eddie Alvarez brings a lot to the table. It's going to be a grueling fight for the both of us. It's going to be a potential fight of the year. I'm going in there expecting a war, and I'm going in there trying to finish Eddie. The cheers or jeers will affect me one-way or the other. The pressure is on him fighting in his hometown. He's going to bring the best out of me. The best. It's going to be scary.
On proving himself:
I believe that I'm one of the very best in the world. I just need to show up. I need to go out there and prove it. I need to be ready. The last few years have been quite a slump for me. I've a lot of issues in my personal life, but it's up to me to come back and me strong. I feel like I'm in a better place mental than I have been for a while.
