Eddie Alvarez rocks Rafael dos Anjos to win UFC lightweight title
All Eddie Alvarez wanted was a chance to show he was the world’s best lightweight.
Once he finally got the shot Thursday night, it didn’t take long to prove it.
Alvarez rocked Rafael dos Anjos early and unleashed a barrage of punches until referee Herb Dean stopped the fight as dos Anjos was taking blows with his back against the cage at 3:49 of the first round in the main event of UFC Fight Night 90 at the MGM Grand Garden.
“He’s the champion. He’s resilient,” Alvarez said. “I had him there, and I had to empty the gas tank.
“Don’t bring the dog out of me.”
Alvarez held several titles outside the UFC, most recently winning the Bellator MMA belt twice. He finally signed with the UFC in 2014 and lost his first fight.
But two straight wins over contenders earned him a title shot, and he took advantage by dethroning dos Anjos.
“This has nothing to do with me,” Alvarez said. “It has everything to do with my family, my friends, my training partners, my wife and my boys.”
“Rafael was top five pound for pound, and I took him out in the first round.”
A heavyweight bout between Derrick Lewis and Las Vegan Roy Nelson was supposed to end in similarly spectacular fashion, but Nelson elected to doggedly pursue takedowns on the big slugger.
While the strategy mostly worked and Nelson appeared to be on his way to a decision victory, Lewis landed two huge right hands in the final 10 seconds of the final round to steal the fight on two scorecards and win a split decision.
Lewis asked for a rematch despite his victory because, he said, he wants a chance to knock out Nelson.
Nelson controlled positioning for most of the fight, but couldn’t find a way to take advantage and inflict damage. Still, he was upset with the verdict.
“I won,” Nelson said.
Alan Jouban spoiled the UFC debut of Belal Muhammad by handing him his first professional loss by way of a unanimous decision. The rising welterweight dropped Muhammad three times with strikes in the first two rounds and hung on during a slugfest in the final five minutes.
Lightweight Joe Duffy bounced back from a loss to Dustin Poirier in December by submitting Mitch Clarke in 25 seconds. Duffy dropped Clarke with a punch, then followed him to the ground and locked in a rear-naked choke as he tried to get back to his feet.
The rising Irish prospect, who has a 2010 win over Conor McGregor, has won five of his past six bouts.
Las Vegan Mike Pyle lost for the third time in his past four fights when he was knocked out by Alberto Mina in the second round to cap a preliminary card that featured five consecutive submissions.
Mina dropped Pyle with a flying knee and followed with punches until the fight was stopped.
Pedro Munhoz, Felipe Arantes, Gilbert Burns, Marco Beltran and Vicente Luque tapped out their opponents.
Lightweight John Makdessi won a split decision over Mehdi Baghdad, as did Anthony Birchak against Dileno Lopes.
Contact reporter Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com or 702-224-5509. Follow him on Twitter: @adamhilllvrj.
