Money is always a motivating factor, but money has never been my driving force. In my first fight, I paid the promoter in order for me to fight. I was in the hole 300 bucks for that. Money has always been a byproduct of me doing something I love.
— Eddie Alvarez
I like to keep a high pace, violent fight. I don't like to waste time, and I don't like to go to the judges. I feel like I've fought long enough where I can adapt to just about any situation.
Where in normal neighborhoods, they would play stick ball and hockey and baseball, we used to slap box and bring boxing gloves down the street and box each other.
Going in there just to win and put on a boring fight, I don't want to be related to anything like that.
I've done it a couple times where I've had fight of the year. It's not what you aspire to.
I have a very good ground game and very good wrestling. People just underestimate it. That's it. I want to keep it like that.
When I fought Nick Thompson, I wasn't experienced enough. That was the first person that put me in a real fight. Before Nick, nobody had put me in a fight where I had to struggle.
As far as Nurmagomedov, I just don't get how you become the No. 1 contender without actually fighting guys who are ranked in the top 10. It kind of baffles me.
I think it's important to say that I am genuinely thankful for the time at Bellator.
Regardless of the magnitude, the crowd, or the pay-per-view sales, the goal is to beat the guy in front of me.
I would love, love, love to watch Conor McGregor fight Floyd Mayweather.
The more dangerous the opponent, the better fight I've fought. It always made me move in ways I'd never moved before.
I think when it comes to re-signing with an organisation, there's no real compromise if you're trying to move on.
I will fight whoever the UFC wants me to fight.
I think sports is a quest to find out what really is - not what perceptions are.
I have a tremendous support from a lot of the Underground fans. They believe in me, they want to see me do well, and they're behind me. But there are a lot of people out there who don't believe it, and so I want to separate perception and reality. I want to be able to do that.
I want to fight only dangerous guys. Whenever I've done that in my career, I've stepped up and risen to the challenge.
If they could put us all in a tournament, that'd be the best way, but they're not going to do that here at the UFC.
The fans, man, the fans have a little different way of thinking. They really applaud the spirit of fighters, and that put a huge influence on the type of energy I fought with, rather than if I won or lost. America's a real win-or-lose culture, where with the Japanese, fighting with spirit is enough.
The goal never changes. It's about beating the guy in front of you.
The first time I fought Mike Chandler, I was thinking about money way too much. I was thinking about the end of my contract. My focus was way off. I didn't believe in the people that were guiding me.
Gray Maynard? Kenny Florian? All these guys, they're UFC fighters, that's all. They're pushed by the UFC, but when they leave the UFC, they're forgotten. When's the last time you heard Josh Neer's name? You haven't. When's the last time you heard about Roger Hurerta? You haven't. They're no ones anymore.
People say I'm good at standup. I don't even think I'm that great at standup. I just hit hard. I don't think I'm super technical or anything like that. I got a couple knockouts. I think I just hit hard more than anything.
I'm looking to grab the UFC and pull them back in the direction of Philadelphia.
I've said it from the very beginning: Fighting the best guys in the world doesn't pay as good as the circus. I want to join the circus. I'm trying to get that circus money.
From wrestling, I learned that I was capable of much more than I thought I was.
I started this fight career with one objective. When I step inside a ring or an octagon, it is to beat the guy in front of me.
If your worst fear can come true, and everything can still be OK, then there's really not much to fear at all.
I really didn't want to enter the UFC in a fight that nobody really cared about or where people thought I was just going to whoop some guy.
I want an opportunity to fight the best in the world and make millions of dollars doing it.
Me? I'm no sob story. I get paid well, and I live comfortably.
The truth is, a large majority of the market, I'd guess 80 percent, doesn't know anything more than what they are sold.
I want to prove the naysayers wrong. They're everywhere. And to be honest with you, they're all I see, and they're what motivates me.
I beat Gilbert Melendez, and he got two shots at the title.
I'm old school, man. I think, if you want to be the best, then beat the best guys.
I've experienced success, I've experienced failure, I've been a world champion, I've fought all over the world; I think I've experienced enough that I won't get in front of a million people and get gunshy.
I believe that in order for me to consider myself one of the top ranked lightweights in the world, I have to go out and dominate the fight.
You don't want to be in a fight of the year. It takes years off your life. But, it's why fans tune in; it's why people gravitate toward your fights. It's why people want to watch you fight. It's important to get into them, but it's important to try not to get into too many of them.
Every once in awhile, we all get a bad hand dealt to us.
The longer I'm in this sport, the more I realize that it's not about the wins and losses that makes you a good fighter. It's about putting the time in and fighting the best guys possible and going after them. The outcome will take care of itself.
I can walk into a restaurant and knock five guys out, become 5-0 real quick. It's about the quality of opponent. You have to beat the right guys to call yourself the No. 1 contender.
The most comical thing for me, even when I watch movies, is the guy who's so crazy confident about himself, with the mink jacket - to me, that is so funny. I wish I could be like that. As a fighter, I wish I could do that, so I could make people laugh. But I can't; it's not my style.
I'm not here if Bill Hunter never forced my hand in wrestling. It was a pivotal point in my life.
Typically, I would say that I'm not defined by one loss and I'm not defined by one win. But I'd be lying if I told you I didn't harp on the loss at Madison Square Garden.
My biggest fear as a fighter is to be knocked out in front of millions of people. But after it actually happened, there's this calmness about you that says everything is OK.
I like to be with my back against the wall in dangerous situations.
I will do whatever the UFC tells me to do, but there's not a doubt in my mind that I can be champion.
The business aspect of this sport is a contradiction to what it's really about, and that's knowing something for what it is and not just what it looks like.
When I say 'fighter,' I am thinking about how you deal with adversity, how you deal with being in bad situations.
These kinds of fights, these big fights that get everyone talking and interested, these are the fights I want.
