Perhaps the most surprising result of the past weekend in MMA was Eddie Alvarez’s loss in his One Championship debut.
The former UFC and Bellator MMA champion suffered a technical knockout defeat against the unheralded Timofey Nastyukhin in the opening round of the lightweight grand prix at One “A New Era” in Tokyo on Sunday, his third setback in his last five fights.
Including a no contest against Dustin Poirier at UFC 211, Alvarez has won just once in his last five bouts overall. However, prior to facing Nastyukhin, those setbacks had come against Poirier and Conor McGregor, with a win over Justin Gaethje in between.