Eddie Alvarez asked to buy a stake in Bellator

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                                Eddie Alvarez asked to buy a stake in Bellator

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Bellator Fighting Championships lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez got the news that Viacom had purchased a majority share of the promotion he fights for along with everyone else this week.

“Originally, when the UFC purchased Strikeforce, I got very on edge,” said Alvarez. “I called Bjorn Rebney to ask him if there was any possible way that I could buy stake in Bellator. The way (the UFC) was buying up promotions like that, I didn’t want them to come in on Bellator without me being able to capitalize on it.”

Rebney had been open to the idea of his star fighter purchasing stake in the company, said Alvarez, but followup discussions never happened.

“You’re going to see, and mark my words, I’m going to say it now. Spike TV is behind Bellator now. Watch how good Hector Lombard becomes. Watch how good I become. Watch how good Zach Makovsky becomes overnight as soon they start promoting us. Look how excellent of fighters we become. The reality is I’m not any better today than I am tomorrow. It’s just more people will know.”


Read entire article...


 

interesting

Eddie is scurred of the UFC LW's.  He gets to be the big fish in a little pond, I think he likes it better that way...keep his face pretty, make good money by being the top dog...



If he cares about his legacy or place in the sport, he needs to get in the UFC.  Wasting his talent and time in Bellator....

Hus - Eddie is scurred of the UFC LW's, make good money by being the top dog...







 no and yes

 ^^ I didnt really mean that Eddie is scared...just your typical rhetorical statement regarding highly regarded non-ufc fighters.  I wanna see Eddie in the UFC, not fighting Michael Chandler...

I dont care that eddie isnt fighting the best guys per se, but doing so he can't claim to be ranked amongst the top guys in the division. He thinks he'll be suddenly ranked higher because of some bullshit hype that spike creates?.. and not because he's beating guys that are legit challengers? Y U NO MAKE SENSE EDDIE?

“You’re going to see, and mark my words, I’m going to say it now. Spike TV is behind Bellator now. Watch how good Hector Lombard becomes. Watch how good I become. Watch how good Zach Makovsky becomes overnight as soon they start promoting us. Look how excellent of fighters we become. The reality is I’m not any better today than I am tomorrow. It’s just more people will know.”
Hold up...so Eddie is going to become a better fighter just because Spike TV is behind Bellator now? LOL...or isn't going to appear that way because he's fighting subpar competition for the most part?

 ^ The Viacom Hype Machine

I wanted to make a "New Ring Girl asked to buy a steak at Bellatoria" (or at least eat a sandwich) spin thread, but calmer heads prevailed

Isn't there a conflict of interest of their star owning part of the company??

Lovetriscuit - Isn't there a conflict of interest of their star owning part of the company??


Ask Mayweather about that... LOL

But yah, it seems like it could cause controversy for sure although in reality I don't think there would be a problem.

And Eddie wants to be a champion, but doesn't want to fight Frankie out of respect. Staying and making big money at Bellator makes a lot of sense for him.

 Personally i also think Eddie should jump to the UFC to test his mettle. Where all fans and we all want to see the best fights possible. And perhaps it is possible to arrange some sort of cross over deal eventually (fighting in the UFC non exclusively for a couple of fights and then returning to Bellator) though i think it is ,unfortunately,higly unlikely.



Still in the long run i do think his pledge to Bellator might be best for the sport of MMA. I am not some sort of UFC hater (never really understood the bitching of some people about the UFC...the put on the best fights period and are great at developing talent) but i do think the monopoly argument might become warranted if there is not at least one strong (preferable at least two) strong organisations to compete with the UFC. This is positive for the UFC (because god forbide if the FTC actually starts and wins a case against the UFC...the would have a major impact on my ability to enjoy great fights) and for MMA as a whole (in the long run).



I am also really curious what Spike and Bellator will be able to do together. I really think Bellator products have been substandart until now. The did have some great fights and some really decent fighters but the productions on MTV 2 look like they where run on a shoestring budget. Think like this shouldnt matter but unfortunately they do. 



So lets hope the Viacom hype machine grinds into full throttle and get innovative and inventive in creating a true beast out of Bellator.

 PS

If i was a fighter i would have asked for a stake of either Bellator of the UFC from the get to....



Conflict of interest,perhaps. But if the stake is small enough it really is more incentive to produce exciting fights....i would focus more on getting KO if i know my stock would go up literally and figuratively.

When you look at it, most fighters want to be in the UFC and are ready to step up to make it happen.

Alvarez is one of the last to take the measures necessary to get in the UFC, he seem to cling onto something that ultimately will be his demise.

The only logical conclusion to explain his actions is that deep down, he knows he would struggle in the UFC, he knows it is a big risk and he's not ready to take it.

He's in it to make the most of it by whatever means, salary wise. Testing himself comes second.

Different mindset.

Not a fan.

eddie will be the first MMA fighter/ tycoon ala DeLaHoya

I believe DeLahoya fought the greats of his time thought.

Alvarez is set to fight what could be described as second tier fighters for the rest of his career, definitely not true contenders.

 Alvarez ftw

Astronaut - 
Mertvaya Ruka - I believe DeLahoya fought the greats of his time thought.

Alvarez is set to fight what could be described as second tier fighters for the rest of his career, definitely not true contenders.


Exactly, since being tapped by Aoki he probably hasnt fought a top 20 opponent.

He is only 27 though and with Bellator going on Spike he definitely has a chance to blow up. Even if he stays in Bellator for the next 3 years he would still have time left. It will be interesting to see what fights they can get for him in Spike. The Huerta fight would have been perfect but I dont know what recognizable names are out there for him

Getting contenders for him will always be a problem... and if he somehow become big, he will always have a huge sword hanging over his head if he loses to what people feel is lower competition or unknown fighters.

When you fight another big name and lose, it's not as big a deal as if you lose to some random guy.

Bad situation to be in, decidedly not a good spot to be in for many years.

It's like the M-1 and Fedor relationship, see how much flack he's getting for that.

Granted, M-1 is not Bellator but the dynamic rest the same.

TopGrinder -  props to eddie tryin to get paid. perhaps its a bargaining chip he is trying to play to get out of his contract or get paid to do so

lol @ baby fedor