Morning Report: Eddie Alvarez on Conor McGregor loss: There’s a freedom in having your worst nightmare come true
UFC 205 went about as poorly as it possibly could for Eddie Alvarez. On that night, the then-UFC lightweight champion lost his title to a man who had been talking a relentless amount of trash at him. Worse yet, the bout wasn’t even close. Conor McGregor dethroned Alvarez with a second-round TKO, but the fight was over long before then, with McGregor dropping Alvarez multiple times in the first and showboating in front of the hapless Alvarez. It was a demoralizing loss and one that took a lot to get over.
But now, Alvarez is about to get back on the horse and attempt to climb the UFC lightweight ladder once again, starting with a fight this weekend against ninth ranked Dustin Poirier. Before his fight at UFC 211 on Saturday, Alvarez spoke with The Luke Thomas Show about the difficulties in moving past the McGregor loss.
“Climbing back from the Nov. 5th fight was difficult. I’d be lying if I told you, ‘Oh I just bounced right back off the mat.’ I needed some serious dusting off. I needed to forgive myself. I’m my own worst critic so I was very disappointed and pissed off at myself about Madison Square Garden. . .
“I sat around longer than what I would’ve like to. I would’ve like to just bounce back and just get over it already but it was difficult. It was difficult for me. I put a lot into this so it was difficult but we’re over it and I’m having a great time with training and enjoying myself.”
In the interview, Alvarez does sound like he’s put the loss behind him, sounding rejuvenated and excited for his upcoming fight. He attributes this attitude to the new perspective he got after the loss, saying that despite his “worst nightmare” coming true, everything else stayed the same.
“I think there’s a freedom in having your worst nightmare come true. As a fighter, your worst nightmare is to get knocked out in front of millions of people. That’s like the dream of waking up naked in your classroom. So getting that out of the way, there’s a freedom in it for me. I never thought it would happen. I never pictured it or visualized it ever happening to me and it happened. I realize after it happened, nothing changed. Nothing changed. My family’s still here, my friends are still here. I’m still the same person. Everybody just wants me to fight again and do well again. Nothing really changed. So there’s a freedom in it and if you haven’t experienced it then you won’t be able to feel the freedom that I have right now.”
The newfound perspective also means Alvarez doesn’t worry too much about the past or the future of his career. He knows that he’s got a lot of work ahead of him to get another title shot but that isn’t his primary goal right now anyway. First, he says, he’ll beat Dustin Poirier, and then after that he’s eyeing a fight with the man who beat the man who beat him.
“The UFC’s pretty crazy. There’s a couple other guys in front of me but it really depends on how you fight and what kind of show you put on. But I don’t care. I want to knock out Dustin and then I want to get Nate Diaz off his bicycle and get him back in the cage in some way, shape, or form.”
Diaz recently went on a special edition of The MMA Hour where he said he wasn’t interested in a fight with Alvarez because he “just got melted by the guy I beat up.” But still, Alvarez insists that’s the fight he wants and he thinks there’s an easy way for the UFC to make it happen.
“Money. They’ve got to make it worth his while. We’ll see [if they will]. It’s gonna take the right fight.”
MUST-READ STORIES
Out. Anderson Silva says he’s out of any potential fight at UFC 212.
Good luck. Luke Rockhold encouraged the other UFC middleweights to tell the UFC, ‘F**k you.’
Hero. Justin Gaethje wants “the scariest dude” he can get for his UFC debut.
Gym swap. Vitor Belfort is training for his retirement fight at Tristar gym.
Star power. Nate Diaz says there are “a lot” of superstars in the UFC, they just have to realize it.
VIDEO STEW
Embedded.
Rankings reports.
TTTHS.
Chuck teasing that the comeback is possible.
Eddie with some legit words for Conor.
BJJ Scout is always worth watching.
LISTEN UP
CME. The boys talk about UFC 211 and all it has to offer.
TFATK. Schaub and Callen talk about UFC 211 and some boxing talk.
Anik & Flo. Ray Longo and ATT coach Conan Silveira are guests.
SOCIAL MEDIA BOUILLABAISSE
Al still Ragin’.
I must have hit nerve! A highly placed official from a 4 billion dollar company speaking ANONYMOUSLY.. sad! #Fakenews https://t.co/6CbNiHKJ7a
— Al Iaquinta (@ALIAQUINTA) May 8, 2017
Nice.
Who knows?
Why is this so hard for so many to understand? Just as a boxer would lose in the octagon. Btw, LeBron can't hit Kershaw's curveball either. https://t.co/fRR6a0tkKl
— Max Kellerman (@maxkellerman) May 9, 2017
Yep.
I feel for my man @KelvinGastelum. He did his thing out there and got it taken away over nothing. #ItsAStupidRule
— Kevin Lee (@MoTownPhenom) May 9, 2017
Missed it but over the weekend, Chael put out a ton of poems about Wanderlei.
Red is the rose
— Chael Sonnen (@ChaelSonnen) May 6, 2017
And Tebow throws
but everyone knows
That WANDERLEI BLOWS
Weird, but a solid matchup.
@RusHammerMMA @MMAFighting @ufc @danawhite pic.twitter.com/ucWvs2qdo2
— John Makdessi (@JohnMakdessi) May 8, 2017
Ouch.
If I get 300 retweets I will announce my opponent
— Jarred Brooks (@The_monkeygod) May 9, 2017
This is good branding.
Just call me Negan Anderson #TheWalkingDead #MakingFeatherweightsGreatAgain pic.twitter.com/nCEqzICrgS
— Megan Anderson (@MeganA_mma) May 9, 2017
Funny like a clown.
All I said was that he's a funny guy! An honor to be choked by the legendary Joe Pesci at @georgelopez's #GeorgeLopezFoundation event. pic.twitter.com/HJbfScqqeV
— Cain Velasquez (@cainmma) May 8, 2017
Stipe with Barstool.
. @robbiebarstool gets the call to help train UFC Champion @stipemiocicufc as he gets ready for UFC 211 pic.twitter.com/Q9118f0iLd
— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) May 8, 2017
FIGHT ANNOUNCEMENTS
Mitch Gagnon (12-3) vs. Brett Johns (13-0); UFC Fight Night: Glasgow, July 16.
TODAY IN MMA HISTORY
2014: Daniel Weichel submitted Desmond Green to win the Bellator season 10 tournament finals at Bellator 119.
FINAL THOUGHTS
That’s all for today folks. Have a good one and see y’all tomorrow.
If you find something you'd like to see in the Morning Report, just hit me up on Twitter @JedKMeshew and let me know about it. Also follow MMAFighting on Instagram and add us on Snapchat at MMA-Fighting because we post dope things and you should enjoy it.