Alvarez: McGregor fanbase ‘don’t know $#!@’ about MMA

Lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez appeared in New York at the media event announcing that he would be challenged by featherweight champion Conor McGregor at UFC 205. He was met by jeers from the crowd, which is bizarre given how grounded, devoted, and fan-friendly a champion he is.

Alvarez discussed it during an appearance on Ariel Helwani’s The MMA Hour.

“I mean, given the reaction of that crowd, it kind of was weird,” said Alvarez, as transcribed by Dave Doyle for MMA Fighting. “I definitely didn’t expect that.”

“It just sort of reiterated to me what his fan base is. His fan base is him. They’re people who, it’s all perception. It seems like he has a lot of WWE fans, guys who don’t know much about fighting at all, they are just like him. You can have them fans, they’re not the fans I want anyway. You can boo all day long.”

“I don’t want fans who don’t know s*** about MMA. I’d rather have a fan who knows the sport, enjoys the sport, and can see value.”

UFC 205, on November 12, 2016, at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York, is the greatest card in league history, with three title bouts:

Eddie Alvarez (c) vs. Conor McGregor
Tyron Woodley (c) vs. Stephen Thompson
Joanna Jędrzejczyk (c) vs. Karolina Kowalkiewicz
Chris Weidman vs. Yoel Romero
Donald Cerrone vs. Kelvin Gastelum
Miesha Tate vs. Raquel Pennington
Frankie Edgar vs. Jeremy Stephens
Tim Kennedy vs. Rashad Evans
Tim Boetsch vs. Rafael Natal
Lightweight Jim Miller vs. Thiago Alves
Lyman Good vs. Belal Muhammad
Liz Carmouche vs. Katlyn Chookagian