Eddie Alvarez leaves ONE Championship, becomes free agent

After leaving ONE Championship, Eddie Alvarez is free to sign with any organization.

Alvarez (30-8), a former lightweight champion in Bellator and the UFC, only competed four times under the ONE Championship banner after joining the organization in March 2019 after leaving the UFC.

The 38-year-old, who hasn't competed since April 2021, declared on Tuesday that he's "amicably" opted to end his contract with ONE Championship, becoming a free agent.

He wrote on his twitter “Confirmed, I am no longer with ONE,” Alvarez wrote. “We parted ways amicably and I remain on good terms with the ONE team. I want to thank Chatri [Sityodtong] for the opportunity and I look forward to watching their continued success. I’m officially a free agent and ready to hunt. Tell me who’s next?”

With four fights under his belt with ONE, Alvarez has a 1-2 record and one no contest.

Alvarez's ONE Lightweight World Grand Prix debut was derailed when Timofey Nastyukhin brutally knocked him out in the opening round. Alvarez later returned to the competition as an alternate, where he submitted Eduard Folayang, but was then forced to withdraw from the Grand Prix due to injury.

Alvarez then suffered a no contest after Iuri Lapicus was unable to continue following shots that were originally deemed as illegal. ONE later overturned the disqualification to a no contest.

Alvarez lost to Ok Rae Yoon by unanimous decision in his final match with ONE in April 2021.

Alvarez was given the opportunity to participate on the ONE X card in 2022, but the Philadelphia native "passed down" a matchup with Saygid Izagakhmaev, ONE CEO Chatri Sityodtong subsequently said. Before leaving the company, that was the last fight Alvarez was reportedly scheduled to fight.

Alvarez is currently unsigned, but now that he's split from ONE Championship, he's free to sign with any organization. Alvarez had a successful career in Bellator MMA before joining the UFC, where he won the lightweight title twice.