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MMA

01st Aug 2018

One line from Eddie Alvarez’s statement following Dustin Poirier loss isn’t being received very well

Tongue-in-cheek?

Ben Kiely

Eddie Alvarez

It’s rare enough you see fans turning on Eddie Alvarez.

Prior to his fight against Conor McGregor, Eddie Alvarez received his fair share of boos. That comes with the territory of trying to derail the hype train of the biggest superstar in the sport.

Once ‘the Underground King’ got knocked out by ‘Notorious,’ it was almost as if some casual fans felt they were allowed to root for him again. To be fair, he gave them a lot of reasons to cheer.

Being a fan of Sean Maguire, showing support for Tyrone GAA and visiting a seriously injured GAA player in Philadelphia really endeared him to Irish fans, in particular. However, the former UFC lightweight champion lost some supporters after UFC Calgary’s headliner. He may have lost even more with his reaction to it too.

Tongue-in-cheek?

Alvarez suffered a second-round knockout to Dustin Poirier in Calgary. ‘The Diamond’ floored him after he foolishly landed a 12-6 elbow while he was in mount. Remarkably, his head coach Mark Henry appeared to be instructing him to land the elbow from his corner. The illegal blow along with grabbing the fence and clawing at Poirier’s ear forced referee Marc Goddard to stand it up. The finish came swiftly after that referee’s decision.

This was a rematch of their controversial first fight. That one went down as a No Contest after Alvarez landed a series of illegal knees to the head of his grounded opponent.

So Alvarez’s reference to the series being 1-1 in his subsequent Instagram statement didn’t sit well with a lot of fans.

There are no grey areas in Fighting , one man will lose and the other will win , this is why I love this game . Controversial calls , judging , and fan support can always add to the drama but in the end 1 will stand and 1 will fall . Hats off to Dustin and his team he stayed calm under pressure and fought beautifully this makes us 1-1 . In no way will I judge Godard harshly , We have the same Job ! he has to make decisions in split seconds just like I do , and he makes them with my health and my opponents in mind . What’s done is done . As for Mark Henry calling for an elbow in the heat of the moment . An angled elbow is an incredible shot from the position I was in , it’s actually the only shot you can throw . We simply had a miscommunication, it happens in war more often than not , this was a case of “friendly fire” and we ended up on the losing end of this battle . But let’s remember Ricardo and Mark are also responsible for my UFC world title , and wins over some of the greatest fighters in the UFC , He’s the hardest worker on our team , obsessive, detailed , and pushes us all to understand the opportunity we have in front of is on a world stage . He’s my coach , friend , and Been a mentor of mine for longer than most of you know . Losing is never satisfying , I don’t lose often but when I do I grow the most as a person/fighter . Adjustments will be made , if anything this loss will add to the joy of my next Victory ! I want to thank my team , coaches , my family , and everyone who supports me in this journey . My family especially, the sacrifice falls on the back of my wife and our children . We experience great Joy in our victories and incredible Pain in our losses but our only other option is to avoid the experience and feel nothing at all . We are grateful to be able to fight every time the walk is made to the octagon , and anxiously awaiting the the opportunity to make that walk again . Thank you @ufc . I was brought here , not to win , but to entertain…. Are you not entertained ???? T.H.N.Q

A post shared by Eddie Alvarez (@ealvarezfight) on

It may very well have been tongue-in-cheek, but a lot of people seemed to think it was bad sportsmanship.