Eddie Alvarez Opens Up On Knockout Loss to Conor McGregor
Mike SloanNov 15, 2016
Three nights ago in the Big Apple on the biggest stage the sport of mixed martial arts has ever had, Eddie Alvarez was poised to play the role of the ultimate spoiler. Though he was the defending lightweight champion, Alvarez was second fiddle to challenger Conor McGregor in the main event of UFC 205 at Madison Square Garden and he was ready to become immortal.
Unfortunately for “The Underground King,” nothing went right for him once John McCarthy told the two to get it on. Alvarez stayed on the outside and opted to stand and bang with McGregor, one of the most lethal strikers in the game. The Philadelphian couldn’t get past his foe’s straight left and was dropped twice in the first from it. Alvarez chose to not mix up his plan of attack and use his excellent wrestling, but he was goaded into a battle of punches and he lost.
Another left-handed rocket floored Alvarez again in the second and unlike in the opening frame, McGregor made sure he stayed there. The Irishman pounced on the champ and lit him up with punches until “Big” John stepped in, allowing McGregor to make history as the only UFC fighter to simultaneously hold world titles in two weight classes. All Eddie got was a beating and a paycheck.
In the fallout to his TKO loss, the man who holds wins over the likes of Rafael dos Anjos, Anthony Pettis, Gilbert Melendez, Shinya Aoki and Michael Chandler was criticized for how he fought. Some pundits called his gameplan absent-minded, others said it was dumb and others didn’t know what to make of it. Alvarez does, however, and admits that his approach was a death sentence.
“Congrats to Conor and his camp on an amazing accomplishment,” he posted on his official Instagram account on Tuesday. “As for my performance, the only thing I can honestly say was I fuc*ing blew it ... I did nothing.
“I did the complete opposite of what we planned on a daily basis for 10 weeks,” he continued. “To sum up our plan in a sentence it was ‘Go left and mostly wrestle.’ Instead, I circled into his left hand and mostly boxed. Fighting the way I did was a for sure death sentence and the result was fitting. I say it all the time, there is really small margin for error at this level and I paid for my mistakes. I managed to make it to the biggest stage and audience in my long career and fucked it all up when I arrived.
“If there was a list of what not to do against an opponent of this nature I did them all on Saturday,” he added. “I am disappointed in myself and this is not a reflection of my coaches, training Partners, and the endless hours of training I commit to this sport. I have never defined myself off one win and I'll never define myself off one loss.”