Fresh off a knockout win over Justin Gaethje at last weekend’s (Sat., Dec. 2, 2017) UFC 218 pay-per-view (PPV) event in Detroit, Michigan — which proved to be an all-out battle (see it) — Eddie Alvarez wants to lock down his Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) future.
With only one fight left on his current deal with the mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion, “UFC’s Most Violent Man” is hoping to land a long-term extension, as well as a big fight for his return to the cage.
“I actually have one fight left with the UFC,” Alvarez said in his first post-fight interview with 93.3 WMMR in Philadelphia (courtesy of MMA Junkie). “I’ve finished all my fights, and I have one fight left in my contract. It’s time to sit down with the boss man and talk about long-term, talk about how we’re going to do this thing and what big, mega-fight we can have coming up.”
Prior to his matchup against Justin, Eddie wasn’t lost on the fact that he wasn’t in a position to start demanding title fights. Still, the former 155-pound champion of the world isn’t too far off the front of the pack, as one or two more dazzling victories could get him back to the big dance.
For now, he’s happy with the title he earned after handing Gaethje his first loss in rather violent fashion.
“I’m the most violent man in the UFC,” Alvarez said. “They can take the No. 1, 2 and 3 (ranking). I’ll just take that title, and I’ll keep it. I’ve been crowned. We went in to make a point,” he added.
“My performances in the UFC, I’ve been trying to win. Win, win, win. I’ve been so focused on winning that the performance itself wasn’t showing my true colors. We went in here with just the idea of, ‘Just be as violent as we can.’ The byproduct of that would be a win.”
Alvarez’s win was his first since coughing up his Lightweight title to Conor McGregor at UFC 205 back in 2016. Now that he’s back on the winning track, “The Underground King” is eyeing bigger and better things marching forward.
The question remains, is this big enough for Eddie?