Back in July of 2016, Eddie Alvarez clobbered the highly regarded Rafael Dos Anjos to win the UFC lightweight title. In November of the same year, Alvarez’s title reign ended as quickly as it began, as he was dominated to a second-round TKO by Irish superstar Conor McGregor.
Now scheduled for a bout with fan favorite contender Dustin Poirier, Alvarez is eager to rebound from the tough stretch he endured in the wake of his loss to McGregor. He explained his desire to get back on track on a recent episode of Toe-2-Toe with Brian Stann.
“I had a bad night in November, and no problem,” he said (h/t MMAFighting.com). “I got back on the horse about six weeks ago, met back up with my coaches, strength and conditioning coaches, Mark Henry and everybody, and we formulated a plan to come back to take over the division that I believe is mine… It was a small chapter in my full book that will be my career. It was a disastrous chapter but now we get to write some new good ones.”
A key to getting back on track, Alvarez explained, is finding new motivation to fight.
“I made a lot of money and I won a lot of world titles,” he said of his career thus far. “I really feel that right now is the time in my career to dig deep because in the past it was very simple to pinpoint a reason why: my children. I needed to do something for the people that are looking up to me. So I found the last couple of months I needed to dig deep to find even more of a ‘why’ to move forward, although I’ve accomplished what I’ve accomplished. I’ve done that and I’m excited. I’m rejuvenated about the opportunity to get back into the cage and show what I’m made of.”
While Alvarez originally hoped to fight Nate Diaz in his return to the cage, he then admitted that he’s excited about the prospect of a fight with a scrappy foe like Poirier.
“He made a lot of noise with the Jim Miller fight,” he said. “He’s been putting on some great shows so I’m excited to get back in the cage with someone like that, someone of his style. I need a good fight like that in me. I have one in me right now, so I’m excited.”
Do you think Eddie Alvarez will be able to reclaim UFC lightweight gold? Sound off, PENN Nation!
This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 3/15/2017.