Eddie Alvarez has laughed off claims from Iuri Lapicus that the youngster will “end his career” when they clash at ONE on TNT 1.

The two men will meet in a lightweight showdown on April 7 with the winner, more than likely, getting a title shot against Christian Lee – even though Lapicus’ last fight was a defeat at the hands of Lee back in October.

Alvarez has had mixed fortunes since arriving in ONE Championship from his loss against Timofey Nastyukhin to his dramatic comeback win over Eduard Folayang. Now, at 1-1 in the promotion, he knows a win over Lapicus would vault him to the top of the division.

During an interview with MMA Junkie, Alvarez opened up about Lapicus’ claims of wanting to end his career.

“I think if you ever threaten me with ending of my career, at first, you have to get a career,” Alvarez laughed. “You haven’t been around long enough to even have a career to threaten to take mine away. That’s how I feel about that. I think he’s green, I think he’s young, and I don’t think he’s been through the situations in my career in fourth and fifth rounds where I just think the experience level is too much. If I drag him into any kind of a fight (like) that I’ll beat him.”

Quotes courtesy of MMA Junkie

Alvarez has been there and done it all in mixed martial arts and he’ll have no fear heading into this bout against Lapicus. Still, he can’t afford to take him lightly, because while ONE Championship may be underrated they certainly have some fighters capable of springing a few surprises.

Will Eddie Alvarez extend his winning streak to two and take himself to the doorstep of a title shot? Let us know your thoughts in the comments, BJPENN Nation!