Eddie Alvarez grinds out split decision victory over ex-champ Anthony Pettis
Few fighters in recent history have had a more difficult start to their UFC careers than lightwieght Eddie Alvarez. The former Bellator champion faced Donald Cerrone in his UFC debut, then came back against Gilbert Melendez.
On Sunday in Boston, the level of difficulty got even higher. Alvarez took on former UFC champion Anthony Pettis at TD Garden in Boston. Though it wasn't pretty at times, Alvarez used wrestling to control Pettis and grind out a split decision victory.
Doug Crosby and Brian Miner each had it 29-28 for Alvarez, giving him Rounds 1 and 3. Ryan Shea scored it 29-28 for Pettis, giving Pettis Rounds 1 and 2.
Pettis' weakness in prior losses to Clay Guida and Rafael dos Anjos was his wrestling. Both of them took Pettis down and eliminated much of his offense.
Alvarez did much the same. In the first round, he largely pinned Pettis against the cage. And while there wasn't a lot of offense, Alvarez was able to control Pettis and that won him points from the judges.
"[Nothing he did was] too surprising," Alvarez said of Pettis. "He's a former champion and so far [in the UFC], I've fought nothing but guys [who have been in] title fights. He's the last guy. He's a former champion and I want the champion next. GIve me the champion."
Pettis opened up in second round, and used kicks and quick punches to pull the round out on all three cards. He opened strong in the third round as well, but couldn't maintain it. Alvarez slammed him down and basically kept him on his back for the final two minutes or so of the fight.
Pettis hired Izzy Martinez, the wrestling coach for former light heavyweight champion Jon Jones, to help him, but it made little difference. He simply couldn't fend Alvarez off and so he had little to offer.
It's going to be a long way back to the top for Pettis, who has now lost two in a row. He dropped his title to dos Anjos in March, then lost to Alvarez in a less-than-satisfying peformance.
"I’m [angry]," Pettis said. "I don’t know what to say right now."
Alvarez, a former Bellator champion, is headed in the opposite direction. He was bested by Cerrone in his UFC debut, but has now beaten Melendez and Pettis in back-to-back fights. Though they are two signficant notches on his belt, it's not going to get him a championship match soon.
Dos Anjos is going to defend his belt against featherweight champion Conor McGregor on March 5 at UFC 197. If dos Anjos wins, he wouldn't be ready to defend again until the late spring or early summer at the earliest. If McGregor wins, he's likely going to defend the featherweight belt at UFC 200 in July.
But either way, the win on Sunday was an important one for Alvarez and will set him up for yet another significant match.
"I don’t think it was split," Alvarez said. "I don’t know what went on there or who scored it for Pettis, but that guy must have been watching a different fight. I would’ve liked to have kept it standing a bit more just for myself. But the plan was to keep him up against the cage. He landed a few shots, but I didn’t feel any power from him and I was able to dominate the fight. I beat Gilbert Melendez and he got two shots at the title, I beat Pettis and he used to have the title and was the No. 1 guy, I fought Cowboy and he got a title shot. I want it! I want the best guys the promotion has to offer, put them in front of me and I’ll beat them. I want my shot!"
