Eddie Alvarez believes Conor McGregor might not be hungry or motivated enough to fight anymore.
McGregor is coming off the first knockout defeat of his career after falling to Dustin Poirier in the second round of their UFC 257 lightweight headliner this past weekend.
Many have been quick to decipher what went wrong with McGregor — was it really the inactivity as he mentioned? Or was Poirier just the better fighter with the better game plan?
As far as Alvarez — who has faced both fighters — is concerned, it was a case of the latter.
“(Dustin) put a sprint on (Conor),” Alvarez said in a recent interview (via Middle Easy). “Mike Brown had a good game plan of chopping that lead leg down, they chopped that down really well. Then Dustin put that sprint on him that Dustin does so well.
“It caused panic, caused Conor to make mistakes. Conor wasn’t able to stay outside and be creative, and Dustin put him away. He has the power to do that. If anybody deserves the accolades and that kind of victory, and a big crowd, it’s Dustin Poirier. He’s fought the best of the best in that division, one after another, and he deserves that victory.”
However, there is one more factor for Alvarez and that’s whether McGregor is motivated enough to compete anymore.
After all, McGregor doesn’t need to fight — he’s only doing it because he loves it. However, it’s a different story when you have $100 million in the bank according to Alvarez.
That said, the ONE Championship star believes that fighter is still within the Irishman. He just needs to bring him out again.
“I think it’s difficult to fight with $100 million. It’s very simple to fight when you ain’t got a pot to piss in or a window to throw it off,” Alvarez explained. “You almost have to fight. It needs to become part of your character in order to be successful. You need to become a fighter.
“(Conor’s) done that, and he’s showed that he can do that and beat the best guys in the world when he’s hungry and motivated. He’s got to sit down, reevaluate some things, and find that guy again that he was. I think he’s inside of him, but it’s a matter of bringing him out, evoking that ego, evoking that guy again. It’s going to be his own choice and his own desire.”
Do you agree with Alvarez?