Special Feature

Eddie Alvarez loves to beat the shit out of people—he's been doing it most of his life. Much like Philly's beloved Rocky Balboa, the 25-year- old relied heavily on his strong fighting spirit and quick hands to overcome a lack of size—at 5-foot-8-inches tall, he's built like a Ninja Turtle—while defending his honor and life during the numerous street fights he encountered growing up in Kensington.

“I'm not that big a person so people aren't that afraid of me. So people would mess with someone like me,” he says.

By the time Alvarez was 18, he was rumbling on a regular basis. In those days, street fights were a popular pastime in Philadelphia's roughest areas—Alvarez shrugs it off as something that guys just “liked to do”—and brawls spontaneously erupted throughout the city. Armed with a weekly paycheck and his brother's ID, Alvarez spent much of his free time hanging out in bars with friends who didn't believe in peaceful conflict resolution. As a result, he fought almost every weekend for the next two years—and he was winning.

Six years later, Alvarez still battles every weekend, but the forum has moved from the streets of Philly to metal Octagon cages all over the world.

Alvarez, aka Silent Assassin, is now the No. 2 ranked lightweight in the burgeoning world of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA).

Training out of the Philadelphia Fight Factory—with an impressive record of 16-2—the prizefighter is a long way from his scrappy, street-fighting days in the hood: He no longer spends his Friday nights pummeling his way through impromptu melees, with nothing but the will to win. These days he prepares for fights diligently and professionally, and spends his weekends taking on highly skilled opponents for ESPN Bellator's new lightweight tournament.

Alvarez has become a well-rounded fighter—both an excellent wrestler and a dangerous striker. He has a flair for the knockout, and often begins his fight with finesse: moving lightly on his feet and picking his shots. But he's still willing to brawl, and has developed a style that resembles a one-man blitzkrieg; a rapid concentrated attack.

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