Eddie Alvarez quotes Gleison Tibau and says he is the only man capable of beating Khabib

E. Alvarez has already won the UFC and Bellator belts. Photo/Reproduction: Instagram

Currently in ONE Championship, former lightweight (up to 70,3kg) Ultimate champion Eddie Alvarez believes he can dethrone the unbeaten record of Khabib Nurmagomedov. The North American cited similarities with Gleison Tibau, who fought evenly against the Russian, to say that he has the 'perfect game' to win.

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“I'm the only matchup that would make any sense or would be terrible for Khabib (Nurmagomedov). There's a guy who left him in a bad light in the entire category, and that's the truth. (Gleison) Tibau was terrible for him because Tibau wasn't very good at anything. (…), but he had a great, solid game plan, and he won that fight (between the two, in 2012). He equalized strength, threw good kicks and was able to nullify Khabib's wrestling", says Eddie Alvarez, in an interview with the North American website "Middle Easy".

Asked how he could surprise Khabib Nurmagomedov, Eddie Alvarez says that he finds certain similarities to Gleison Tibau's style and would repeat the feat so that he could surprise a large part of MMA.

“I’m not very good at anything. You say 'What is Eddie good at?' I'm not good at anything. I'm not a great striker, I'm not a great wrestler or a great jiu-jitsu guy. I'm athletic, I have a strong spirit, a strong heart and I will fight, I will fight to the death (…) The styles match, and anyone who is in a high-level sport knows that. I just think the match in general would have been something special”, concluded the fighter.

Alvarez, who has fought most of the lightweight division's stars, such as Conor McGregor, Dustin poirier e Justin gaethje, currently has a record of 30 wins, seven losses and one fight without result. The American is preparing to return to action on April 7th, when he faces Iuri Lapicus at 'ONE Championship'.