Christian Lee says Eddie Alvarez ‘not ready’ for title shot, needs to win a fight
Reigning ONE lightweight world champion Christian 'The Warrior' Lee recently expressed frustration with Eddie Alvarez’s lackluster showing in ONE Championship.
Speaking to the media at a recent virtual Zoom session from his home in Mililani, Hawaii, Lee said he is still open to facing Eddie Alvarez if the American can string a couple of solid victories together. He stated that 'The Underground King' was simply not ready for a title shot at this time.
“Eddie Alvarez, he was the big name that ONE Championship signed from the UFC, and initially I thought there was a lot of hype behind him. A lot of people thought he would just run straight up to the top and take the lightweight world title. But since then he hasn’t been able to put a string of wins together enough to warrant a title shot” said Lee, who has won the belt and defended it twice since Alvarez’s arrival with the organization in 2019.
Lee is scheduled to return to action at ONE: Revolution, which broadcasts live from the Singapore Indoor Stadium on Friday, September 24. 'The Warrior' headlines a stacked card opposite No.3-ranked Ok Rae Yoon, who is the only man Lee has yet to face and beat.
There’s NO questioning Christian Lee’s heart! ❤️ Will “The Warrior” retain his ONE Lightweight World Title on 24 September against Ok Rae Yoon? @ChristianLeeMMA #ONERevolution #WeAreONE #ONEChampionship https://t.co/A7Z0fNrqau
If Christian Lee can take care of business against Rae Yoon, he will have essentially cleared out the ONE Championship lightweight division’s top five. This opens up the door to a title shot for Alvarez, who Lee says needs to show the promotion he deserves one.
“As of right now, Eddie Alvarez is coming off of a loss, so he’s not ready for a title shot. If we talk a little bit later down the line, maybe if Eddie wins a few fights, then he’s going to be the next fight” said Lee, in a sardonic show of support for his contemporary.
The reigning champion said it would be ideal if Alvarez could win impressively with a finish and put together a winning streak to work his way up to a title shot.
Eddie Alvarez's quest for ONE Championship gold hasn't gone according to plan
When 'The Underground King' Eddie Alvarez joined ONE Championship a couple of years ago, fans expected him to barrel through the lightweight division and eventually work his way up to a title shot.
It was only supposed to take him one or two fights at the most. After all, Eddie Alvarez was a highly accomplished athlete who had already captured world titles with two major mixed martial arts promotions before joining ONE.
He joined the Asian organization in the first place to realize his dream of becoming the first man in history to have held the UFC, Bellator, and ONE world titles.
However, things certainly haven't panned out the way Eddie Alvarez planned.
'The Underground King' was met with tremendous adversity during his first appearance in the circle in 2019 when he was destroyed by Russian knockout artist Timofey Nastyukhin.
He returned to defeat former champion Eduard Folayang to finally get on the board but lost via disqualification to Iuri Lapicus earlier this year. After Alvarez’s team requested that the bout be reviewed, the ruling would later be overturned to a no contest.
Eddie Alvarez received another chance to turn things around two weeks later against Ok Rae Yoon but ended up dropping a unanimous decision loss to the unheralded South Korean, setting him further back.
For a man who had, in the years prior, taken out established names like Justin Gaethje, Rafael dos Anjos, and Anthony Pettis, this has no doubt been an incredibly disappointing run.