Edward Alvarez[3] (born January 11, 1984) is an American professional mixed martial artist and bare-knuckle boxer who most recently competed in the Welterweight division of BKFC.

He holds notable wins over former world champions Pat Curran, Michael Chandler, Shinya Aoki, Gilbert Melendez, Justin Gaethje, Anthony Pettis, Eduard Folayang, Patricky Freire and Rafael dos Anjos.

[9] Despite receiving partial scholarship offers to wrestle in various colleges after graduating in 2001, he decided to pursue a career in mixed martial arts.

[7] Alvarez won the MFC Welterweight Championship in his seventh professional fight in June 2006, when he defeated Derrick Noble via KO at 1:01 of the first round.

[13] At Bodog Fight's "Clash of the Nations" pay per view in Russia on April 14, 2007, Alvarez's size disadvantage would be exposed, as he suffered his first career loss when he was TKO'd by UFC veteran Nick Thompson at 4:32 into round 2.

[14] A few weeks prior to the first event, it was announced that the Japanese promotion DREAM, started by the minds behind PRIDE FC and K-1 had signed Alvarez to compete in their 154-pound grand prix.

[15] Alvarez advanced to the second round of the tournament, where he defeated top-ranked Lightweight fighter Joachim Hansen on May 11, 2008, by unanimous decision.

[17] Alvarez was scheduled to face UFC and PRIDE veteran Nick Diaz for the EliteXC 160 pound title on November 8, 2008.

He fought and defeated Toby Imada, via a rear naked choke submission early in the second round, to become Bellator's first ever lightweight champion.

[23] Alvarez was supposed to fight the Season 2 Lightweight Tournament Winner Pat Curran in a defense of his title, but his opponent was pulled from the card due to an injury in his right shoulder.

Alvarez agreed in principle to signing with the UFC, reportedly including a share of pay-per-view revenue in addition to show and win money.

In the fourth round, Chandler landed a flying knee and some brutal ground and pound which hurt Eddie.

[34] Rebney stated in the post fight press conference that the two would meet again in a rubber match, possibly on pay-per-view, once they both have recuperated.

[35][36] In August 2014, new Bellator MMA president Scott Coker announced that Alvarez had been released from his contract with the promotion.

He made his promotional debut against fan favorite and top contender Donald Cerrone in the co-main event at UFC 178 on September 27, 2014.

[47] Despite being a three-to-one underdog going into the fight, Alvarez found his range early and rocked dos Anjos with a right hand just past the halfway point of the first round.

With the Texas commission not operating under the new unified rules, referee Herb Dean declared the fight a No Contest as he did not believe Alvarez knew Poirier was a grounded opponent at the time.

[53] In July 2017, it was announced that Alvarez would be a coach on The Ultimate Fighter 26 against former WSOF Lightweight Champion Justin Gaethje.

[62] On October 15, 2018, it was announced that Alvarez signed with ONE Championship, set to make his promotional debut some time in early 2019 as part of their Lightweight division.

[65] On December 19, 2018, it was announced that Alvarez faced Timofey Nastyukhin at ONE Championship: A New Era on March 31, 2019, in promotion's inaugural event in Japan.

[67] Alvarez returned at ONE Championship: Dawn of Heroes on August 2, 2019, against former ONE lightweight champion Eduard Folayang.

[69] Alvarez was expected to face Saygid Arslaniev in the ONE Lightweight World Grand Prix final, but on September 26, 2019, news surfaced that he had to withdraw from the bout due to an injury.

[80] On March 1, 2023, it was announced by BKFC president Dave Feldman that Alvarez had signed with Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship.

[83] Alvarez faced Mike Perry on December 2, 2023, at BKFC 56 for the symbolic "King of Violence" championship and lost by corner stoppage after the second round.

[87] Alvarez utilized his financial success to move his family out of Kensington and into Southampton, PA following the birth of his first son.

[88] Alvarez made two appearances on the television show Bully Beatdown on MTV, where he knocked out both of his opponents.