Ex-UFC champ Alvarez shows off horrific eye injury, congratulates Russian who KO'd him in ONE debut
Former UFC and Bellator lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez has shared photos of the gruesome eye injury he sustained on his ONE Championship MMA debut, and congratulated Timofey Nastyukhin, who inflicted the damage.
Alvarez was finished inside a round by Russian knockout artist Nastyukhin at ONE: A New Era event in Tokyo, Japan, on Sunday as he was eliminated from the promotion's Lightweight World Grand Prix tournament in shocking fashion.
READ MORE: ‘Monstrous KO artist’ Russia’s Nastyukhin stuns Alvarez at One Championship
The American had arrived in ONE on a wave of hype and publicity, with Alvarez stating his intention to continue his run of winning the lightweight world title in every major fighting organization in which he has competed.
But his debut could not have gone worse, as he was rocked early on, then finished in clinical fashion by Nastyukhin, who continued his remarkable record of claiming each one of his stoppage victories inside the very first round.
Alvarez posted a pic of Nastyukhin landing one of his best punches of the fight, followed by a selection of gruesome close-up shots of his injured left eye, with stitches in both the top and bottom eyelids.
"Hey guys. First and foremost congrats to Timofey on his victory, he is very deserving of everything that comes with victory and I wish him the best in the continued tournament," he began.
"Honestly speaking how I fought my ONE Championship debut is not a reflection of my training, my coaches, my team, it’s not even a reflection of my beliefs.
"I am sincerely disappointed and confused in my inability to not pull the trigger and my hesitancy on recent fight nights, it’s been quite confusing to figure out the past year or so.
"Coach Mark always stresses 'hesitancy is death' and it’s not something that is even in my character to do. In this particular fight I waited too long for an opening and paid the ultimate price."
Describing his injury, he continued: "The punch that hit me instantly blinded me and split both eyelids in half. It felt like my eye exploded from the inside and the pain was instant.
"From an outsider watchingmyself I should have expected the result considering my actions. You have to punch, kick, takedown and pressure to win a fight, I waited. I simply waited too long for the correct timing and opening that never came."
Alvarez has come back from damaging defeats before. Indeed, his ability to do so has defined the American's career. And the former UFC star vowed to bounce back from this latest setback.
"Fighting continues to teach me life lessons thru my victories and even more through tough defeats. Victory and defeat are by-products of putting it on the line, they have been inescapable throughout my whole life.
"I hope to be judged on how I adjust and pivot from defeat and behave in victory rather than the result of a small moment in time.
"To my wife/kids family, coaches, teammates, friends and to all the fans, thank you always for your continued support, doing this is very lonely and isolated, a simple pat on the back goes a long long way. Thank you thank you thank you.
"I will make adjustments and come back true to form," he concluded.
Also on rt.com Meet the Russian who spoiled the party at Eddie Alvarez's ONE Championship debut: Timofey Nastyukhin
