Alvarez ready to take risk vs Folayang, looks to end clash by ‘knockout or submission’

MANILA, Philippines—Anything can happen in a fight but Eddie Alvarez sees only two possible outcomes when he meets Eduard Folayang in their lightweight showdown Friday night.

“I could see it that way—knockout or submission,” Alvarez said Tuesday during the ONE: Dawn of Heroes press conference at City of Dreams Manila.

Alvarez has no plans of going the full distance against Folayang especially when the fight is being staged in the Team Lakay star’s hometown.

READ: Top fighters face off ahead of ONE: Dawn of Heroes featuring Folayang-Alvarez

“If I see that this is gonna become a close fight, I’m gonna take risks that I normally wouldn’t take,” he said.

“I understand the terrain, I know where I’m at, it’s hostile territory and if this is to become a tit-for-tat, back-and-forth fight, I’m gonna take risks that the fans would enjoy.”

Both Alvarez and Folayang are coming off first-round losses last March in ONE: A New Era in Tokyo, Japan.

Alvarez lost to Timofey Nastyukhin, who hit him with a barrage of strikes, in his ONE debut while Folayang went to sleep after getting caught in a triangle choke in a title rematch against Shinya Aoki.