CARLOS Alvarez takes on Reza Saedi in a featherweight MMA bout in One Friday Fights 25 at Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.
Eduard Folayang and a bunch of other Team Lakay fighters left the stable in April, creating a void for Alvarez and other younger fighters from the camp to fill in.
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The 24-year-old Alvarez says he is ready.
“For me, this is a really big challenge because there’s that pressure on us knowing that we’re the next guys up, that we're representing Team Lakay on the international stage,” he said.
“It’s a blessing for us, too, since it’s an opportunity for us to show what we’ve been preparing for.”
Alvarez admits there are times that the pressure gets to him but says he draws strength from stablemates.
“You can’t avoid having second thoughts, but at the same time, our seniors who have since left have been saying that I’m ready to do it, and I’m skillful enough to compete at that level,” he said.
“The only thing missing then was opportunity. Now that I have it, I have to grab it.”
Alvarez is confident that he’ll live up to expectations.
“They always say that we in the next-gen are the more complete fighters because since our early years, we’ve been practicing jiu-jitsu, wrestling, and striking. So, we’re very well-versed in all manners of the fight game,” he said.
“We also benefited greatly from the experiences of our older teammates. It’s a really big deal for us to become the next standard-bearers.”
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