By Robert Balajadia

Guam’s Joshua “The Hedgehog” Alvarez (12-6) is gearing up for his second ONE FC fight this Friday after dropping his first bout to Koetsu Okazaki back in December. His opponent this round is Rey Docyogen (10-2) and Alvarez has been ready to bounce back.

“This time is going to be better since I’ve trained with world class guys off-island at MMA Lab (in Arizona). I’m more ready and confident,” said Alvarez.

‘The Hedgehog’s’ last fight came on short notice which didn’t give him enough time to prepare. Although he was fighting at a weight class he is accustomed to, preparing for the weight cut on short notice hurt Alvarez. That will not be an issue this time around as he explained his weight was on point.

Although his fighter nickname on sherdog.com is “Chest Presley,” Alvarez assures that he will still be fighting under the moniker ‘The Hedgehog’.

“That was just a joke…” Alvarez explained.

Alvarez is aware of Docyogen’s ability and is focused on defending himself from the explosive striker.

“I’ve been training more in my conditioning and stand up, preparing for what he’s going to throw at me. I’ve been watching tapes and working on defending what he throws.”

With some of Guam’s best fighters signing fight contracts to the UFC, Bellator, and now ONE FC, the experience of fighting changes as well as the venue.

“There is a big difference,” stated Alvarez on fighting in ONE FC compared to other fighting organizations. “They take real good care of me, like PXC took care of me too. It’s well organized.”

Alvarez was riding a five-fight win streak before his loss to Okazaki, but the MMA veteran is hoping to start a new type of winning streak against the higher level of competition. First thing’s first, he has to get through Docyogen.

“I’m going to try my best to go through my game plan with my coaches. I’m going to try and take him down and submit him. Hopefully all the fans like what I display.”