Philly's Eddie Alvarez ready to defend his lightweight UFC title
The black SUV pointed toward New Jersey, and Eddie Alvarez began to collect his thoughts. He was scheduled to speak to a group of 300 children that came from environments similar to the one he overcame to become Philadelphia's first UFC champion.
The black SUV pointed toward New Jersey, and Eddie Alvarez began to collect his thoughts. He was scheduled to speak to a group of 300 children that came from environments similar to the one he overcame to become Philadelphia's first UFC champion.
What would he tell them?
Alvarez typed ideas into his phone as he sat in the backseat. His gold-plated title belt was tucked inside a bag next to him. Alvarez, 32, is one of the brightest stars of mixed martial arts. But two decades ago, he was just kid in Kensington with a dream. And what better message for those kids to hear than that.
"There's really no obstacles. There's nothing that is impossible," Alvarez said. "If you can think about it, and you obsess about it enough, and you work hard, you can achieve it. It's that simple. We don't need to let things get in the way."
Before Alvarez was a UFC champion, he was an all-Catholic League wrestler at North Catholic High School. Alvarez grew up in the heart of Kensington at G and Westmoreland Streets, just a few blocks from the notorious intersection of Kensington and Allegheny. He was determined to get out.
He graduated from North Catholic with three Catholic League titles and scholarship offers from Division 1 programs. But, Alvarez no longer wanted to wrestle. He could not imagine having to cut weight for another four years. He earned money doing concrete jobs, working as a cement finisher.
Alvarez then found an MMA gym in Northern Liberties and was hooked. It reminded him of how he felt after his first taste of wrestling.
He told his wife, Jamie, of his wild dreams to be a world champion. The two had met when they were 15. Jamie went to St. Hubert and drove from Wissinoming to pick up Alvarez in Kensington. Alvarez joked that he knew she was the one when she threw herself into a playground brawl after Alvarez was hit with a cheap shot.
His dreams were crazy, he said. But Jamie would listen and tell him to chase them.
"Most people wouldn't say that considering where I'm from," Alvarez said. "I'm a Kenzo, and no one really does anything from there. Everybody would give me 10, 20 reasons why I'm not going to achieve what I set out to do. But I found her, and I found someone that I didn't feel judged by. She made me feel like I can do them. I found someone special so I held onto her."
Jamie Alvarez was sitting ringside last month in Las Vegas when her husband earned the UFC lightweight championship with a stunning first-round knockout of Rafael dos Anjos, one of the sport's most feared fighters. Alvarez was a heavy underdog, but he tagged dos Anjos with a right hook and quickly pounced to earn the victory.
The night was a culmination of a 13-year journey and another example of the fighter's spirit. He was known as "The Underground King" when he was racking up titles in the sport's lower levels before reaching UFC in 2014. And then he lost his UFC debut. Alvarez regrouped, moved his family back to Philadelphia after living for two years in Florida and steadied his career.
He won his next fight despite breaking his nose and left orbital bone. Alvarez won again in January to earn himself the title shot against dos Anjos. Now he's the champ, and his first title defense could come in November at UFC's first ever event at Madison Square Garden.
Alvarez wants to meet the winner of Conor McGregor and Nate Diaz, who fight on Aug. 20. McGregor is the sport's biggest draw. Fighting the Irishman would forever change the life of Alvarez, who lives with his wife and four children in a rowhome in the Morrell Park neighborhood of Northeast Philadelphia.
"To fight him would be great, but I'm more interested in beating him up," Alvarez said. "I'm more interested in whopping him. We'll see what comes. How well he does against Nate Diaz. I'm not interested in Conor. I'm interested in the winner of that fight. I don't want the loser."
Alvarez had his thoughts gathered by the time he held the microphone at the free camp in Camden held by the 76ers. He told the kids to dream and to "be something big."
He instructed them to go home, page through magazines and find stuff you want in life. Cut out the pictures and paste them onto a posterboard. Call it your dream board, Alvarez said. He did the same thing a few years ago with his wife and kids, pasting photos of a nice house and a goal of being a top-ranked fighter.
All of that is his now. And it all started with a kid from Kensington who had a dream.
@matt_breen