Eddie Alvarez: We’re Not Going to See the Real Max Holloway at UFC 223

Eddie Alvarez was one of a few fighters who was offered a short-notice bout against Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 223, but the former lightweight champion was in no way prepared to take the fight.

“It would have been great to be ready for that fight, and be ready to step in and save the day,” Alvarez said on Instagram (transcription via MMAFighting.com). “But unfortunately, I am way, way too big to make the 155-pound limit.

“I’m heavier than I’ve been, because I haven’t fought in a long time,” he added. “I hold a lot of water, I hold a lot of glycogen because of how muscular I am. So to make 155 on six days, it’d be impossible. I’d probably kill myself.”

Alvarez hasn’t competed since a third-round knockout victory over Justin Gaethje at UFC 218. However, he says he should have anticipated something happening with the UFC 223 headliner. After all, Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson have been scheduled to fight four times now, and on each occasion the bout has fallen through.

“I’m disappointed in myself a little bit, because I kind of had the foresight to see this happening,” Alvarez said. “I even talked about it happening, but when it got three to four weeks out, I just said f—k it, these guys are going to fight, and there’s really no reason for me to be ready.”

Ultimately, the UFC announced that featherweight champion Max Holloway would step in on six days’ notice and face Nurmagomedov on Saturday at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. In addition to Alvarez, Brian Ortega says he was also offered the fight before Holloway responded. Alvarez believes that Holloway was the promotion’s top choice all along.

“I didn’t get the feeling like I was the guy to pick,” he said. “I think Max was the guy to pick, and they needed other options. So that way they can, I guess, take a couple of bids and see who comes in the lowest and the best.”

While Holloway is on a 12-fight winning streak and is one of the top pound-for-pound fighters in the world, fighting on such short notice is a different animal. Especially, Alvarez says, against an opponent like Nurmagomedov.

“Khabib is not the fighter that you take on six days’ notice,” Alvarez said. “In order to beat Khabib, you need to be conditioned, number one. He already poses a unique style. But No. 1, you have to be very, very, well-conditioned. Beating Khabib on six days’ notice is a very, very tough ask.

“Max Holloway is a (expletive) beast. Max Holloway single-handedly ran through his division, fought the best guys in the world, but anybody who fights understands the difference of someone who’s in the peak of their training camp, and someone who’s just starting training camp. It’s a vast difference,” he added.

With that in mind, Alvarez doesn’t expect to see the Holloway who has run roughshod over the featherweight division.

“We’re not going to see the real Max Holloway on Saturday,” he said. “We’re just not. As much as we love Max Holloway and I think the world of him, and I think he’s a great champion, we’re not going to see the real Max Holloway on Saturday.”