Former Bellator lightweight champ Eddie Alvarez will try to claim UFC gold for the first time on Thursday when he takes on current champ Rafael dos Anjos on a Fight Pass show in Vegas. Alvarez built a reputation in Japan and Bellator as a crowd-pleasing striker that was always ready to throw down. In the UFC, that has not been the case so far - his bouts have been plodding and wrestling-heavy.
Then again, he has earned a title shot with that style. So more power to him.
But as a guest on Inside MMA over the weekend, Alvarez relayed that he was doing an absolute ton of sparring for this fight. In today's MMA world, that is unusual. but Alvarez says he doesn't believe in over-training (transcribed by MMA Fighting):
"We've done 150 sparring rounds, live sparring rounds for this fight. I couldn't have perfected this dance any more than what it's gonna be. We're just ready to go in there on Thursday and do it...I don't believe in over-training. I think someone made that up who didn't necessarily want to train that day so he came up with a line and said ‘over-train.' I don't believe it. I'm in the mind that the more you do something the better you get at it."
That is a lot of rounds. Many camps have gone away from that style of training, but we'll have to see if it works for Alvarez on Thursday. The title bout will serve as the headliner for the first of three shows in three days during International Fight Week.
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