The best lightweight outside the UFC, Alvarez says hype doesn’t impress him

Eddie Alvarez is one of the last men standing. With Zuffa purchasing Strikeforce, the UFC has scooped most of the elite fighters in the world. The promotion has 110 of 125 ranked fighters in the USA Today/Bloody Elbow rankings under contract. One of those guys, and probably the best not working for the UFC is Eddie Alvarez.

The 27-year-old lightweight out of Philadelphia fights Pat Curran this weekend at Bellator 39 on MTV2 (9 p.m. ET/PT).

Alvarez (21-2) is standing up for those guys outside the UFC, saying the fighters listed as the elite at 155 pounds are just names with huge promotional power behind them.

"...They're only important names why? Because they fight for the UFC. Or else they'd be nobodies. The UFC does a great job of pushing them, and they're popular. It doesn't mean they're talented. It just means they're known," Alvarez told SI.com. "I guarantee that if you put them in a tournament structure like Bellator, they're not going to win it every time. Gray Maynard? Kenny Florian? All these guys, they're UFC fighters, that's all. They're pushed by the UFC, but when they leave the UFC, they're forgotten."

Alvarez fought two former UFC 155ers in 2010 and destroyed them.

"When's the last time you heard Josh Neer's name? You haven't. When's the last time you heard about Roger Huerta? You haven't. They're no ones anymore. What were they two years ago? They were superstars."

For anyone who doubted Alvarez's skills, the Huerta win was an eye opener. Alvarez known as a good wrestler with heavy hands used his legs to mentally and physically breakdown Huerta in two rounds. Huerta lost just two times in the UFC, to Florian and Maynard. Neither one of those guys, ranked No. 7 and No. 2� respectively at lightweight, put a beating on Huerta like Alvarez did.

Curran (12-3) is dangerous. He's on a nice run of four straight wins, including Toby Imada and Huerta. Alvarez-Curran headlines an excellent card that includes welterweights Lyman Good, Rick Hawn and Ben Saunders along elite lightweights Patricky Freire and Imada.

Tip via MMAMania

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/The-best-lightweight-outside-the-UFC-Alvarez-sa?urn=mma-wp819

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