UFC lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez put on the performance of a lifetime against Rafael dos Anjos. The Brazilian was blazing his own trail to greatness with wins over Donald Cerrone, Ben Henderson, Nate Diaz and Anthony Pettis. When he met ‘The Silent Assassin’ on July 7 though, the five-fight winning streak would come to an end. Alvarez touched the chin with a vicious flurry of punches and the belt changed hands to the former Bellator champ.
Before facing dos Anjos in Sin City, Alvarez had seen his first three UFC fights go to decision. Losing one of those fights, a burner against Donald Cerrone, the 32-year old from Philadelphia seemed to be having trouble finding his stride. Following his 2-1 start, the victory over ‘RDA’ to win the belt must have tasted that much better.
Decisions
Speaking during a great walk-and-talk with Ariel Helwani in his old Philly neighbourhood, Eddie Alvarez discussed a number of subjects in length. As well as the potential fight with Conor McGregor, the hard hitting lightweight boss talked about his performances before fighting Rafael dos Anjos.
“When I fought Rafael dos Anjos I was able to put on that kind of fight. People want to see the most vicious and crazy finishes. When you match up two of the best guys in the world, that doesn’t always happen. When you’re fighting these guys, with such a small margin for error, it’s not often you get that magic.”
The McGregor Fight
The McGregor FightSince Alvarez took the lightweight title and Conor McGregor defeated Nate Diaz in their UFC 202 rematch, a lot of talk has surrounded a potential shot for ‘The Notorious’ at 155 pounds. Alvarez addressed these reports, stating nothing is official yet, and also saying he could have done better at UFC 202 with a ‘five dollar’ training camp.
“We’re not anywhere just yet, just rumours and talks. Nobody has given the call or anything like that. I think it would be a little bit foolish (for him). When I look at the history of his opponents that were picked, I’m not one of those guys. I want the fight, 100 percent. If it was up to me, I think it could happen. It’s up to the powers that be, I’ll leave it to them. I’ll get ready. I think (McGregor) is a guy that’s fortunate to have a little country on his back.”
“I’m more about whats real, and I think he’s more about perception. Te perception is becoming more important about what really is. That’s why I don’t think they’ll take the fight. If perception is the most important thing, they won’t go after me. They’ll go after the guy that looks like the best in the world, but really isn’t. In a sparring room, there’s always a guy we call ‘the rest round.’ That guy you grab when you’re tired and say ‘hey come on man let’s do a rest round.’ He’s the rest round not just for me, for anyone in my gym. I was impressed by the first seven minutes (of Diaz vs. McGregor 2). The rest of it looked sloppy. It didn’t look like he’d spent $300K training for it. I could have done that for $5. It’s comical, it’s laughable for a guy like him to say he’d finish me.”
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