Eddie Alvarez Insists a Win Over Dustin Poirier at UFC Calgary Earns Him the Next Title Shot
Two of the best lightweights in the world go head-to-head on Saturday night when former Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez takes on Dustin Poirier at UFC on Fox 30 inside the Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
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“There is no one,” Alvarez said. “I just simply don’t see no gain anywhere except for Khabib. That’s it. I don’t know if the UFC — I don’t see them putting anyone else in front of me. It just don’t make any sense. For where I’m at in my career, the people that I’ve went against. I fight back-to-back-to-back the hardest résumé. You name another fighter or anybody in the lightweight division who has fought the toughest guys. You’re hard pressed to find that guy — I’m that guy.”
Alvarez accepts that with Conor McGregor’s legal issues now behind him, he’ll be the favorite to fight for the title simply due to the amount of money he’ll generate for the UFC, in which case Alvarez will have to wait.
“If Conor comes back, Conor will get it,” Alvarez said Monday on The MMA Hour with Luke Thomas. “I’m a realist. This is what’s going to happen. The ability to make $100 million for the UFC is way more important than doing what’s righteous and what’s whatever for the company. They’ll have to hash out the Conor-Khabib thing, make that fight happen, have everybody make a lot of money and be happy. And whoever is sitting in the wings, who is deserving, I guess will get the next shot.” Alvarez said that in his first fight against Poirier that he was still dealing with his crushing knockout loss to McGregor in his previous fight and was not himself. Although come Saturday he said, things will be different.
“I was too much in my own head,” Alvarez said. “Very hesitant the first fight, too much thought going on. I didn’t do much. I gave Dustin a lot of space. And you guys are gonna see almost immediately right away the difference in the fight when Dustin Poirier isn’t given the space that he wants and needs to create his opportunities.
“He does very well. He’s a gifted fighter, talented and athletic. And he does well with space. You take that away, it’s gonna be a long night.”
Alvarez will have some competition for him that No. 1 contender spot even if the UFC awards McGregor the next title fight, as Tony Ferguson rode a ten-fight win streak on his way to claiming the interim UFC lightweight belt in October last year. “El Cucuy” was scheduled to fight Nurmagomedov in April this year at UFC 223 but injured himself undertaking promotional work days before the event and had to withdraw. Ferguson appears to be recovering quicker than anticipated from his injury judging from his recent activity on on Twitter and will likely want his next fight inside the Octagon to be for the title as well.
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