Why Eddie Alvarez is rolling the dice on Saturday
Eddie Alvarez: “I haven’t really been given a good enough offer to not take the risk that I’m willing to take.”
UFC fighters characteristically negotiate a new contract before their final fight. Eddie Alvarez isn’t. His fight Saturday night vs. Dustin Poirier in the main event of UFC on FOX 30 will be the last on his contact, and thereafter he will try free agency.
With a win, ‘The Underground King’ is on a two-fight win streak, with a #3 ranking in the ridiculously competitive lightweight division, and the unofficial title of “most violent man in MMA.” With a loss, he’s 1-1 with 1 NC his last three, and the unofficial title of “the man who just lost to Poirier.” That’s a markedly less marketable position. During a recent appearance on The MMA Hour, Alvarez explained why he’s rolling the dice and letting his contract run out.
I don’t think there’s any reason why not to — that’s why, said Alvarez, as transcribed by Marc Raimondi for MMA Fighting. I haven’t been given any reason why not to. I guess that’s the best I can say. If I was given enough where I thought, ‘Hey, it’s not worth the risk,’ I’d say, ‘OK, I’m not gonna roll the dice here, this is very good, this is what I feel I’m worth and I’m just gonna keep going and going.’ But I haven’t really been given a good enough offer to not take the risk that I’m willing to take.
We’re just not there yet. I know with the UFC, you never know when you strike a deal. But I’m patient. I’ve learned to be patient, because in the past I’ve gotten ahead of myself and maybe left a lot of money on the table. I don’t know. I think what’s fair is fair and every fighter, it’s a very individual thing, how much each fighter deserves and should get paid. I think I bring a lot of value and when I fight I make this company a lot of money and I make a lot of fans excited. I want to be shared with a little bit more than what I’m being shared with. That’s all.
Considering how much the company makes, no. It’s peanuts — it’s a quarter. They’d be flicking me a quarter, considering what they make when I fight. What I’m asking for is not just what I feel I deserve right now. In the past eight fights, I look at who I fought — co-main and main events, some of the largest cards in UFC history. With the McGregor fight, sell out crowd, selling out MSG. I’ve been involved in some pretty lucrative [fights] and I feel like I should be shared with a little more considering. It is what it is. That’s business, man. That’s just the way it goes sometimes.
