Former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) lightweight champion, Eddie Alvarez, has a little history with reigning division kingpin, Khabib Nurmagomedov, dating back to late 2016 when “The Eagle” was used as a pawn in negotiations for Conor McGregor.
Alvarez was instructed to go out like a man — and he did — though probably not the way Nurmagomedov had intended.
But now that “Notorious” is out of the picture, they can finish what they started later this year, unless interim champion Tony Ferguson makes a speedy recovery and somehow convinces promotion president Dana White to change his position on this.
“I am Khabib’s Kryptonite,” Alvarez said on Instagram (via MMA Fighting). “You all know it. It’s the elephant in the room. I’m the guy in the lightweight division, the only guy, that can beat Khabib. Everyone knows it. He can run to Georges [St-Pierre] or run to Conor [McGregor] or run to whoever, I’m the guy. I’m the guy to put that ‘1’ in that loss column.”
Despite “The Eagle’s” championship win at UFC 223, the lightweight division is still in a state of flux, thanks to “El Cucuy” blowing out his knee. That, coupled with McGregor’s recent arrest, means the 155-pound weight class could look entirely different by the end of the year.
In addition, it’s unclear who will get the first crack at Nurmagomedov’s crown, as the undefeated Dagestani is preparing to take an extended leave of absence for Ramadan. This fight might tell shed some light on that.
Unless Alvarez steps in to flash that Kryptonite.