Eddie Alvarez doesn't think too highly of Conor McGregor, it seems. Since taking the lightweight title off Rafael Dos Anjos at UFC Fight Night 90, the globetrotting titlist has had his eyes firmly fixed to the Irish striker for his first defense, and his method for making sure the fight happens? Constant smack talk.
The latest example? A scathing interview with Tiki and Tierney on CBS Sports Radio (warning, NSFW language):
"I don't know him personally, but thank God he's good at talking because he can't fight for s--t," Alvarez said (h/t MMAFighting.com for the transcription). "Look, in this sport, the good thing about the UFC and MMA in general is a lot of it's based on perception ... If I can put the right guy with the right mouthpiece in front of the right opponents, we can build a champion, but he doesn't really have to beat the best guys; we just have to give him the right matchups."
It's a popular argument that has been made by McGregor naysayers for years now. From 2013 to 2015, McGregor exclusively fought fighters with Brazilian jiu-jitsu or striking backgrounds, which led to many questioning if UFC decision-makers were protecting him from fighters who began their careers in wrestling. While McGregor would eventually defeat one of the featherweight division's best wrestlers, Chad Mendes, that perception is still frequently brought up by detractors.
Of course, there's plenty of reason to doubt Alvarez's sincerity here. While McGregor is an incredibly divisive fighter, Alvarez is most likely just angling for a big-money fight with the featherweight champ following his UFC 202 bout with Nate Diaz. McGregor represents the biggest possible payday for Alvarez by a substantial margin and, given the fact that McGregor was once set to receive a lightweight title opportunity at UFC 196, there is a real chance he could receive one again with a win over Diaz.
If the stars align for that fight, Alvarez hopes to receive some recognition from casual fans, who are largely unfamiliar with his impressive resume, as he told Norton and Friends (h/t MMA Fighting for the transcription) in another interview:
You win a world title, you beat the best guys in the world, and a lot of these fans are kind of misconstrued about who are the best fighters in the world. ... So I'll beat a bunch of good guys and then I'll get a ton of fans come up to me and go, 'Do you think you can beat Conor McGregor?' And I'm like, 'Oh my God. You guys are disillusioned.' They think because this man's popular he's good.
There is certainly a lot of intrigue to be had in an Alvarez vs. McGregor matchup. Hopefully fans get to see it at some point.
Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com
No comments:
Post a Comment