Eddie Alvarez has revealed his corner was more than justified in stopping his fight with Jeremy Stephens at BKFC: KnuckleMania 5.
Stephens was awarded the third-round TKO victory after Alvarez’s corner waved off the fight following the third round of this past Saturday’s main event at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. The former UFC and Bellator champion was dropped twice in the bout and tried to keep fighting, but ultimately his team wasn’t having it.
The evidence now shows that was the correct decision. Monday, Alvarez shared X-rays of his face revealing a significant fracture across the right side of his jaw. According to Alvarez, the pain was excruciating (via Instagram):
Got hit with a kill shot in the first or second … I did my best to keep a Gameface and ignore it . By the 3rd round the damage was too much . Please understand how bad I wanted this and what I sacrificed in order to Win, it wasn’t my night . Bare Knuckle is as real as it gets . Unpredictable, Fast Pace and violent …. Congrats to all the new Up and coming Philly stand outs @cody__fights @teamgarbarino @theanimalbkfc @hevweightbrady on their wins . You Men are the Future and made Philadelphia Proud , I’m soo Happy for our City and the future of our Combat Athletes . Whether I win or lose is not as important as Philadelphia/Pennsylvania slowly becoming the most dominate Area in the country for Combat Sports . @bareknucklefc is the fastest Growing and will be the Greatest Show on Earth .. Mark my words 👊🏼👊🏼👊🏼👊🏼🙏🏼 Thank you Philadelphia for showing out … 👊🏼👊🏼
Alvarez, 41, did not comment on his fighting future after falling short in front of his hometown fans in Philadelphia. He has lost two of three fights since signing with BKFC, and his bout with Stephens marked the return from a 13-month layoff after sustaining two orbital fractures in a December 2023 loss to Mike Perry.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for BKFC: KnuckleMania 5.
