Eddie Alvarez To Khabib Nurmagomedov: ‘You Beat Number 11 To Be Champion, Pray On That During Ramadan’
Eddie Alvarez has made it very clear that he wants a shot at the UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov and that he should be the first man he defends his title against.
Alvarez was present at UFC Fight Night 128 in Atlantic City, New Jersey this past weekend and spoke with reporters backstage about the current 155-pounds title situation. Alvarez is currently in the mix along with the likes of Dustin Poirier and Conor McGregor to get the first crack at the champion when he’s ready to defend his title later this year,
The sentiment seems to be that McGregor will be the one to get the crack at the Russian come November, but of course, Alvarez would do things a little differently if he had control.
“Look if I made the decisions around here this company would be run a lot differently,” Alvarez said with a laugh.
“Honestly, it wouldn’t make too much money at all, you don’t want me making the decisions around here bro.
“Should he [defend against Conor]? Who knows. Is he going to? Probably if he wants to.”
While he expects Nurmagomedov to go down the path that will make him most money, Alvarez says he’s willing to wait his turn and that eventually, Nurmagomedov will have to fight him.
The “Underground King” then went on to question the Russian’s legitimacy as the titleholder after he beat the no. 11 ranked Al Iaquinta for the title
“We’re going to let Khabib make his money,” Alvarez said.
“The funny thing is, Khabib wasn’t a champion, now he’s a champion after beating no. 11.
“Let’s just get that out in the open. He says ‘paper champion, fake champion, who’s real champion.’
“You beat no. 11 and now you’re champion, think on that, pray on that during Ramadan. Think about that.”
Alvarez then used the example of his own run to the title where he defeated Anthony Pettis and Gilbert Melendez before beating the then unified champion Rafael dos Anjos as a more credible path to the belt.
“When I fought for the title, when I fought for the world title, I literally fought no. 5, no. 4, no.3, no. 2 and then no. 1, I fought a champion, a guy that had a real belt.
“That’s a real champion and I’ll continue to fight the best and I’ll wait my turn.
“I’ll let the UFC do their job and pick who’s next in line and I’ll be waiting there for all of them.”
Watch the full scrum via MMA Junkie below:
