Dustin Poirier, Kamaru Usman, upset with Eddie Alvarez's disqualification at ONE Championship
Eddie Alvarez lost to Iuri Lapicus via disqualification at ONE Championship on TNT 1, on Thursday morning in Singapore. In the eyes of many fighters, this disqualification seemed unfair.
The former UFC lightweight champion entered the fight on the back of a semi-final round win in the ONE Lightweight Grand-Prix tournament. Alvarez, looking to claim the title in his third MMA promotion, was devastated by his loss, and so were his former UFC competitors.
No.1 ranked UFC lightweight Dustin Poirier took to Twitter to quote Alvarez's words from his post-fight interview, and give his respect to 'The Underground King'.
Eddie Alvarez and Dustin Poirier have fought each other twice before. The first meeting between the two lightweights resulted in a no-contest while 'The Diamond' emerged victorious in the rematch.
UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman also showed his support for Alvarez. The Nigerian Nightmare didn't agree with the referee's decision and referred to the disqualification as "terrible".
Apart from Usman, another UFC star who revolted against Alvarez's disqualification was Derek Brunson.The 37-year-old said Alvarez's punches were legal since his opponent was turning his head away.
Former UFC middleweight title contender Chael Sonnen didn't agree with the disqualification either. The American Gangster said Alvarez caught his opponent in the side of his head.
Eddie Alvarez hoped to become the lightweight GOAT of MMA
In an interview with TMZ sports, Eddie Alvarez claimed he could surpass Khabib Nurmagomedov as the lightweight GOAT if he wins the ONE Championship title.
"I think, in my eyes, I'll be the greatest lightweight that ever lived. It is fine to be great for five years. It is even fine to be great for ten years. But, for two decades, to continue to fight champions all over the world? I'm not staying in one place, I'm not staying in one promotion," said Alvarez.
However, things didn't turn out the way Alvarez hoped. The 37-year-old will now look to potentially earn a rematch against Iuri Lapicus in the future and stake a claim to the lightweight belt once again.
Eddie Alvarez made his debut at ONE Championship in March 2019 and lost his promotional debut bout against Timofey Nastyukhin. But he got back into the win column with a win over Eduard Folayang in his next outing.