There’s a lot of blame being tossed around in the wake of UFC on FOX 30.
After fans got done screaming at referee Marc Goddard, who penalized Eddie Alvarez for throwing an illegal elbow against Dustin Poirier last Saturday night (July 28, 2018) in Calgary, “The Underground King” came under fire for making such a boneheaded move.
One that cost him mount against the fence.
Now, it’s coach Mark Henry’s turn to fall on his sword, after revealing to The Ariel Helwani Show that he instructed Alvarez to land an elbow on “The Diamond,” but inadvertently made the 12-6 motion with his arm when he really intended for it to be slanted.
Eddie Alvarez’s coach @MarkCoachmark13 says the foul in Poirier fight was his fault, speaking to @arielhelwani. Of course he knows the 12-6 rule, but when Eddie glanced to the corner, Mark’s motion to relay “elbow” was 12-6. Tough lesson to learn. Mark is one of the best.
— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) July 30, 2018
“It was my fault,” Henry said. “I feel horrible.”
Rightly so. Not only was this a technical knockout loss for Alvarez — who got smashed by Poirier after the referee stand up — it was the final fight on “The Underground King’s” UFC contract, so he now heads to the bargaining table on a loss.
As for Poirier, he may very well be in line for a crack at the lightweight crown, depending on how things shake out between Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov. Until then, only time will tell if Alvarez ends up with UFC.
Or back here.