When Eddie Alvarez knocked out Justin Gaethje with a brutal knee after their UFC 218 war, in his mind, he won the unofficial Most Violent UFC title. It was something that he created due to limbo at lightweight and the nature of the fight he had before him. However, there is a real belt in the division, or at least an interim, held by Tony Ferguson. The interim lightweight champ Ferguson wasn’t impressed, by the fight are the ‘title’ Alvarez boasts about. He took to Twitter to tell Alvarez what he thought and didn’t hold back one bit. …Eddie Alvarez was quick to respond though.

“I’m the most violent man in the UFC. They can take the No. 1, 2 and 3 (ranking). I’ll just take that title, and I’ll keep it. I’ve been crowned. … [Justin Gaethje and I] went in to make a point. My performances in the UFC, I’ve been trying to win. Win, win, win. I’ve been so focused on winning that the performance itself wasn’t showing my true colors. We went in here with just the idea of, ‘Just be as violent as we can.’ The byproduct of that would be a win.” — Eddie Alvarez speaking to 93.3 WMMR in Philadelphia via MMAJunkie.

Conor McGregor says he’s fighting in MMA next, but there are no guarantees in this business. After Alvarez’s performance against Gaethje, he’s at the top of the heap as we wait for Khabib Nurmagomedov and Edson Barboza’s fight to unfold. Is Tony Ferguson making sure he’s got the bases covered on a potential undisputed title bout, or is he just having fun with Alvarez? Either way, that is a fight that would be brutal and fun as hell, no matter what title would or wouldn’t be on the line.

This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 12/16/2017.