Eddie Alvarez
I think it's important to say that I am genuinely thankful for the time at Bellator.Collection: Thankful
I've experienced success, I've experienced failure, I've been a world champion, I've fought all over the world; I think I've experienced enough that I won't get in front of a million people and get gunshy.Collection: Failure
I think bullying in general is for cowards.
I don't have a nickname. But, hey, they can call me what they want - The Silent Assassin, The Underground King. In Japan, they call me American Knuckle Star. Call me what you want.
I'm not here if Bill Hunter never forced my hand in wrestling. It was a pivotal point in my life.
I never prepare according to how I feel for a fight. I always prepare to be a better me.
Money is always a motivating factor, but money has never been my driving force. In my first fight, I paid the promoter in order for me to fight. I was in the hole 300 bucks for that. Money has always been a byproduct of me doing something I love.
My biggest fear as a fighter is to be knocked out in front of millions of people. But after it actually happened, there's this calmness about you that says everything is OK.
The fighters and the fights are what makes UFC great.
I never take a round off or a run off or a push-up off; that's just not in me.
There's not a single strike that good preparation can't negate.
I was never the most technical; I was never the best at one aspect at this sport, but what I was always good as was negating people's strengths and putting them in terrible situations where they're uncomfortable.
It's hard when you win the title to not think, 'I'm here. Now what do I do?'
When I joined UFC, I said I want to be involved in fights where millions of fans are watching, biting their fingernails, thinking, 'What the heck is going to go on here?'
There's a part of martial arts where we need humility and respect.
Conor McGregor - this guy is so offensive minded and never on the defense that whenever you put him on the defense, he gets so flustered and so upset.
I'm proud of both sides, and they are both really well known to be fighting heritages, so I tell everyone all the time - they say, 'What are you'? - I say I'm Irish. I'm Puerto Rican. I guess I was born to fight.
I'm a whole lot more than just Spanish or Irish or whatever, but definitely, it's given me help. It's given me a push, and I'm very proud of my Spanish heritage.
I've got the fighting Irish, and Puerto Ricans are some of the best fighters in the world. I'm proud of who I am, but it doesn't define me as a person.
I don't like going to 155; I do it because everyone else does.
It's MMA - anything can happen. You can throw a punch from one knee, a punch from anywhere.
We got four-ounce gloves here. It's not hard to knock someone out.
If you're not successful at a certain weight, it rarely has anything to do with gaining or losing 10 pounds. It's something inside of you that you need to fix in order to win. It rarely has anything to do with cutting 10 pounds.
Although I'm shorter, all of my weight I carry in my back and my butt. That's where most of my weight is.
Fighting in general, but especially when I was younger, was tough to deal with because there are so many external things going on that want to control you that most people have no clue about.
I don't need to be told what I am or what I should do or if I beat this guy it means I'm good or if I lose to that guy it means I'm bad. I'm at peace with myself, and I know what I do every day in my training will speak for itself, and success will be a byproduct.
There's a lot of guys in the UFC who are good at one thing, and they get matched up stylistically well.
I've been fighting the best guys, so I would like a gimme fight.
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.
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.
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.
The fights for me are always about what you cannot see, the intangibles. It's about what's inside - what really is inside.
I boxed. I did track and field; I did basketball, football, any sport I was able to sign up for.
I won my first 10 fights by knockout. The money was getting larger at the same time.
The right thing to do is just ask what you can give, and then let things manifest in the time they're supposed to.
Out of nowhere, they made an interim belt and had Lee fight Ferguson. This is very odd for me; what went on there? You know. I don't know what went on there.
I had to fight Donald Cerrone, Anthony Pettis, Gil Melendez, Rafael Dos Anjos. I had to fight these guys in order to prove myself in order to get a title shot.
I know what I can do at 155.
I've knocked a ton of guys out. I know the power I have and the advantages I have against the best in the world.
I rarely think that when a guy loses a fight, it's a weight issue. You can either fight, or you can't.
I don't want to go that route where I'm going into fights dehydrated. I used to fight at 170 pounds. I was 10-0 at 170 with eight knockouts. I'm not going to listen to somebody from the outside tell me what weight I should be fighting at.
I'm a little unconventional; I do things a little differently.
Where most kids play stickball and hockey, I'd walk down the streets with two sets of boxing gloves and knock on my friend's door and see if he wanted to box. There were boxing gyms on every corner.
Having your worst nightmares kind of come true is truly liberating.
I enjoy fights the most once them nerves go away and you settle into the fight. That's when you can have your fun and be creative and just kind of be yourself.
I'm my own biggest critic, so no matter what was being said in the media or being said by fans, I feel the worst when I disappoint myself.
I want to fight Gilbert Melendez.
The idea is to go out there and win in a dominant fashion. That changes people's minds, the way they're thinking about me, and lets people know I'm here to contend for a title.
It's a fist fight - the idea is to go out there and impose my will.