Eddie Alvarez believes his former foe, Conor McGregor, needs to become hungry like he was before he became a UFC champion.
Before McGregor knocked out Jose Aldo, beat Alvarez to become a champ-champ, and boxed Floyd Mayweather, the Irishman fought often. His only source of income was fighting which made him hungry and motivated.
Yet, at UFC 257, McGregor suffered a TKO loss to Dustin Poirier and many wondered how motivated he was. For Alvarez, however, he believes Poirier just had a good gameplan to defeat the Irishman.
“(Dustin) put a sprint on (Conor),” Alvarez said to Morning Kombat (via Middle Easy) about Conor McGregor’s UFC 257 loss. “Mike Brown had a good game plan of chopping that lead leg down, they chopped that down really well. Then Dustin put that sprint on him that Dustin does so well.
“It caused panic, caused Conor to make mistakes. Conor wasn’t able to stay outside and be creative, and Dustin put him away,” Alvarez continued about. “He has the power to do that. If anybody deserves the accolades and that kind of victory, and a big crowd, it’s Dustin Poirier. He’s fought the best of the best in that division, one after another, and he deserves that victory.”
Although the loss is no doubt disappointing for Conor McGregor, he is still one of the best lightweights in the UFC. For him to become elite and become the champion again, Eddie Alvarez believes the Irishman needs to return to his 2015 self. But, with over $100 million in the bank, it is uncertain if he can or will.
“I think it’s difficult to fight with $100 million. It’s very simple to fight when you ain’t got a pot to piss in or a window to throw it off,” Alvarez explained of Conor McGregor. “You almost have to fight. It needs to become part of your character in order to be successful. You need to become a fighter.
“(Conor’s) done that, and he’s showed that he can do that and beat the best guys in the world when he’s hungry and motivated,” Alvarez continued about Conor McGregor. “He’s got to sit down, reevaluate some things, and find that guy again that he was. I think he’s inside of him, but it’s a matter of bringing him out, evoking that ego, evoking that guy again. It’s going to be his own choice and his own desire.”
There is no question the next fight for Conor McGregor is a big win as he is in a must-win situation.
Do you agree with Eddie Alvarez over his comments about Conor McGregor?