Back in November of 2016, Eddie Alvarez stepped onto the canvas to defend the UFC lightweight title against Irish superstar Conor McGregor. Regrettably for Alvarez and his many fans, this fight would go down as a bit of a disaster, as he was soundly out struck and ultimately knocked out by his Irish foe.

Speaking on a recent episode of The Luke Thomas Show, Alvarez explained that it was incredibly difficult for him to bounce back from this nightmarish loss.

“Climbing back from the Nov. 5th fight was difficult,” he said (via MMAFighting.com). “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.”

Ultimately, however, Alvarez was able to regain his composure. He’s now feeling good heading into his Saturday night scrap with Dustin Poirier.

“I think there’s a freedom in having your worst nightmare come true,” he said. “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.”

Do you think Eddie Alvarez will return to winning ways this Saturday?

This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 5/8/2017.