Eddie Alvarez (photo courtesy of Bellator)

By Joshua Molina

Win or lose Friday night, Eddie Alvarez should stay in Bellator Fighting Championship.

Alvarez rose to stardom in Bellator. They treated him well and gave him opportunities. For awhile there a few years ago Alvarez was regarded as one of the pound-for-pound best lightweights in the world.

Now, with his contract up, and Alvarez making no secret of the fact that he wants to earn more money, the fighter is rumored to be headed to the UFC.

Here’s the deal. Fighters are stars. Brands are not. At least they shouldn’t be bigger than the stars.

Alvarez should stay in Bellator and continue to believe he’s the best in the world. He should stay loyal to CEO Bjorn Rebney and fight for Bellator as it gets ready to move to Spike TV.

Alvarez can become the face of the promotion on the national stage. He can be the guy who turned down the UFC.

Besides, he will get lost in the UFC. And not because he’s not as good as other UFC lightweights. He will get lost because he will probably have to fight his way up the card to prove to UFC brass that he can compete with UFC fighters.

He won’t get an immediate title shot that he deserves. He might headline a UFC Fuel card. Maybe he will get a No. 1 contenders match against Strikeforce Lightweight champ Gilbert Melendez, if Strikeforce is folded into the UFC.

It would be sort of a “the guys from the other leagues fighting to see if they are good enough to battle for the UFC title.”

Whatever it is, it’s almost a lock that the UFC will frame Alvarez as the guy from Bellator who has beaten a lot of tough competition, but now “must prove that he can compete with the big boys in the UFC.”

If he loses or performs poorly in his debut, they will say “a lot of fighters get nervous when they fight for the first time in the UFC.”

And that’s just nonsense.

The UFC no doubt wants Alvarez, just like they wanted Hector Lombard, who infamously stumbled in his UFC debut.

This is business. The UFC wants to hurt Bellator.

If Alvarez truly believes he’s the best in the world, he need not hide behind the UFC brand. He should stay in Bellator and make the UFC and Strikeforce fighters come to him.