When Eddie Alvarez steps into the cage with Dustin Poirier in the main event of UFC Calgary this Saturday night, he’ll complete the final obligation on his current UFC contract.<\/p>\n
Fighting out a UFC contract in this way is always a big risk for a fighter \u2014 but the payoff can be huge. Lose, and you greatly reduce your bargaining tools when attempting to negotiate a new deal. Win, however, and you’ve made yourself a much more valuable commodity, which means it’ll be easier to procure a pay increase.<\/p>\n
Speaking on Monday’s edition of The MMA Hour, Eddie Alvarez explained why he’s gambling on himself in this way.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think there\u2019s any reason why not to \u2014 that\u2019s why,\u201d Alvarez said (transcribed by Marc Raimondi for MMA Fighting<\/a>). \u201cI haven\u2019t been given any reason why not to. I guess that\u2019s the best I can say. If I was given enough where I thought, \u2018Hey, it\u2019s not worth the risk,\u2019 I\u2019d say, \u2018OK, I\u2019m not gonna roll the dice here, this is very good, this is what I feel I\u2019m worth and I\u2019m just gonna keep going and going.\u2019 But I haven\u2019t really been given a good enough offer to not take the risk that I\u2019m willing to take.\u201d<\/p>\n