The former UFC lightweight champion discusses his contract situation and signing on to face Dustin Poirier later this summer in Calgary.
Eddie Alvarez feels like he’s at his best when he’s fighting off instincts and emotion, but in a 35-fight career that has carried him to six countries, locating a charge that can carry you through each training camp and into the cage can be challenging.
That’s why he was so excited about the opportunity to share the cage with Justin Gaethje last winter at UFC 218 in Detroit.
Not only did the pairing come with a six-week stint as opposing coaches on Season 26 of The Ultimate Fighter, but facing off with the previously unbeaten former World Series of Fighting champion also filled Alvarez with the kind of emotional charge he was looking for out of his next fight.
After rattling off 17 consecutive victories to begin his career, including a series of savage outings as the WSOF lightweight champion and a Fight of the Year effort in his promotional debut against Michael Johnson, Gaethje had established himself as a legitimate threat in the 155-pound ranks and Alvarez envisioned their meeting as a battle to determine “The Most Violent Man in the UFC.”
The fight delivered and Alvarez emerged victorious, collecting his first win since claiming the lightweight title from Rafael dos Anjos two summers earlier in Las Vegas. He’s been on the sidelines ever since, sitting with a single fight left on his contract, waiting to re-negotiate or for the right matchup to lure him back into the Octagon to come around.
Then he got tired of waiting.
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“We were trying to renegotiate my contract and we came to a standstill where the UFC wanted one thing, I wanted another,” explained Alvarez, speaking with FanSided late last month after inking a deal to face Dustin Poirier in the main event of the organization’s summer return to Calgary, Alberta set to air on FOX. “I said, ‘Let’s just move forward. Let’s not hold up the fights. Let’s not hold up my contract; just give me my fight. I have a fight left – give me my fight. Let’s move forward.’”
Alvarez and Poirier have a history together, having squared off just over a year ago at UFC 211 in a bout that was a non-stop thrill ride for the nine minutes and 21 seconds that it lasted.
Unfortunately, the contest came to an unfulfilling end as Alvarez connected with a pair of inadvertent illegal knees while Poirier was grounded along the fence. When “The Diamond” was deemed unable to continue, the fight was stopped and declared a No Contest.
Poirier began pushing for a rematch almost immediately, but Alvarez wasn’t as keen and accepted the coaching assignment on TUF and eventual fight with Gaethje instead. Since then, he’s been waiting for the right matchup and a new contract to materialize and when the latter didn’t seem to be coming together, “The Underground King” decided to bet on himself and return to the fray without a new contract in place.
Where the violent potential of his fight with Gaethje is what filled him with emotion heading into that contest, jumping into the cage for a rematch with Poirier in the last fight of his current deal has done the trick for Alvarez this time around.
“I think I’m (creating that emotion) for myself by rolling the dice on myself by not renegotiating my contract and putting myself in a state where my back is against the wall,” said Alvarez, who has earned 29 wins against five defeats over his nearly 15-year career. “I do my best work when it is absolutely necessary and I’m putting myself in that state of mind and that situation.
“I’m not just a fighter inside the cage – I’m a fighter in every aspect of life,” added the 34-year-old Philadelphia native. “If I feel like what I’m worth is more, than I’m going to fight for it. I’m going to fight for what I feel in my heart is right and I don’t separate from that no matter what realm I’m in.
“If we come to an agreement somewhere along the way, great, but let’s not leave the fans waiting for me to get back into the cage. I don’t want to keep myself waiting.”
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Fans had been clamoring for an Alvarez-Poirier sequel since their first frenetic encounter and the calls to run it back only grew louder after the 29-year-old Poirier stepped into the cage and handed Gaethje his second consecutive loss back in April.
It was second consecutive stoppage win and second straight Fight of the Night bonus for the American Top Team product since his bout with Alvarez, building upon his main event victory over former lightweight champ Anthony Pettis from the previous November. In addition to adding another tick in the win column, Poirier continued to show the increased poise and patience that has become a hallmark of his approach in the cage since returning to lightweight.
Despite his recent strong performances, Alvarez believes their first meeting was Poirier’s best chance to beat him and foresees things being quite different when they get re-acquainted with one another next month in Calgary.
“For me to say, ‘This happened the first time we fought, so it’s going to happen again’ would be foolish,” said Alvarez, prefacing his thoughts on his impending rematch with Poirier. “Every fight is absolutely different; who knows how it’s going to go?
“What I do know is that was his best shot at beating me – you guys have seen it. That I do know. That is fact. His best shot at being able to beat me and finish me was that night and he couldn’t do it then.
“This will go really well for me,” he added. “We made very minute changes, but making smart changes will change the whole outcome of this fight. He had his shot.”