Eddie Alvarez ready for UFC pressure cooker after laborious road to big show

Eddie Alvarez knows he'll have a metaphorical bull's-eye on his back when he makes his UFC debut.

The company's lightweight division is arguably the deepest weight class in any mixed martial arts organization. The upper ranks at 155 pounds are filled with some of the sport's finest athletes in their primes. The bottom and middle rungs feature veterans with chips on their shoulders who can still beat anyone on any given night and youngsters eager to make their mark.

The Philadelphia native will cut a long line when he makes his UFC debut on Sept. 27 against red-hot Donald Cerrone in the co-main event of UFC 178 in Las Vegas.

All eyes will be on the newbie. And the Philadelphia native wouldn't have it any other way.

"That's exactly how I want it," Alvarez (25-3) told Yahoo Sports. "I'm at my best when I feel like I've been backed into a corner. I've done a lot of hard work to get here, so if they don't like it, line 'em up and I'll fight them one at a time."

For a while, it appeared Alvarez might never get the chance to fulfill his UFC dreams. He was Bellator's first breakthrough star in a stint that began with the company's debut show in 2009.

But things went sour between Alvarez and former company CEO Bjorn Rebney in recent years. Alvarez believed himself to be a free agent in early 2013, and received a lucrative UFC contract offer, one that would have put him right in the top mix. Rebney claimed Bellator held matching rights. The resulting legal entanglements meant, with lawsuits flying from both sides, that Alvarez competed just once in a nearly two-year span.

"It sucked," Alvarez said. "I don't want to spend much time dwelling on the past, but it sucked."

With his prime earning window closing fast, Alvarez and Bellator eventually agreed on a settlement that called for two fights and then a clean break from the company. But Rebney was let go over the summer when Alvarez had one fight left on his contract. New Bellator boss Scott Coker was amenable to letting a fighter who didn't want to be there leave, paving the way for Alvarez to cross over to the UFC.

"I'm grateful they gave me the chance," Alvarez said. "Scott Coker's a man of his word. You'll never hear me say a bad thing about him. Maybe me and Bjorn had our little feud, but things worked out."

Alvarez feels fortunate he was able to maintain his focus during a turbulent time.

"I have a good legal team, good coaches, good people around me," Alvarez said. "Yeah, other fighters, when they were put through what I went through, they might have snapped, but I really, through all of this, was able to just focus all my energy on the gym and staying sharp, because I knew my people had my back."

Alvarez made his mark in the sport through a memorable pair of fights with Michael Chandler, widely considered the two best fights in Bellator's history. Chandler submitted Alvarez in the fourth round of their first encounter to win Alvarez's Bellator lightweight title back in 2011; Alvarez, in his only Bellator bout after his legal settlement, earned a split decision over Chandler to reclaim the belt last November.

The two were paired up for a much-anticipated trilogy fight on PPV in May, in what would have been the final, free-and-clear fight of Alvarez's Bellator stint, but a concussion suffered just over a week before the event forced Alvarez to pull out of the fight.

And while Alvarez, who trains with the South Florida-based Blackzilians camp, is largely the sort to refrain from looking back, he admits to twinges of regret over how everything played out with Chandler.

"I feel bad for Mike," said Alvarez. "I'm sorry he went through that training camp and we didn't get to finish business. You gain respect for someone as a competitor when you go through the battles we went through. I know it ended up unresolved and the fans want to see a winner, but you know what, who knows? The way things are in this business, maybe one day a door will open and we'll have the opportunity to meet one more time."

Meanwhile, Alvarez knows why he's being thrown right into a co-main event with Cerrone. The popular fighter nicknamed "Cowboy," like Alvarez, has a well-earned reputation for taking on all comers and for engaging in an exciting fighting style.

The 31-year old Cerrone has fought four times since November. He won all four fights via finish and won official UFC post-fight bonuses for each victory. With a victory, Cerrone, who has fought for UFC parent company Zuffa since 2007, has reached his now-or-never point as a title contender.

Alvarez knows he's in prime position to walk in and steal Cerrone's spot. So he plans on leaving no stone unturned once the Octagon gate is locked.

"Here's the thing: Donald likes to get comfortable in there," Alvarez said. "He likes to take his time and set things up and rope you into fighting his type of fight. I don't plan on letting him do that. I'm going to dictate the terms of the fight, I'm going to go out there and take it to him, I'm going to push him out of his comfort zone. I don't care who knows, there's no secrets with me."

Follow Dave Doyle on Twitter @DaveDoyleMMA