Eddie Alvarez pulled no punches on the latest edition of The MMA Hour and promised to deliver the goods in his much anticipated bout with former WSOF champion Justin Gaethje.
“The Underground King” believes that he has the answer to unbeaten Gaethje’s style after the lightweight exploded onto the UFC landscape with dramatic knockout win over Michael Johnson.
“100 percent,” Alvarez replied when he was asked if he has Gaethje figured out.
“There’s not really a game plan to be honest with you. Justin has been able to pressure people and cut them off and has done really well. I don’t think that the strategy that I’m able to apply because I’m an athlete…the guys that he has been facing don’t seem to be doing what they should do.
“I have the answer to what these other guys haven’t been able to do and I’m really excited. This has been the most improvement that I’ve made since I’ve been in the UFC.”
Having beaten champions from the vast majority of MMA’s big banners, Alvarez is excited to be facing another lightweight who has previously held another promotion’s championship.
“For me, this is the main event. For me, there is extra leverage going into this fight because I’ve beaten every single champion from almost every organization you can think of. From Shinya Aoki from Strikeforce to (Gilbert) Melendez to Pettis from UFC, then to Bellator, the list goes on and on,” he explained.
“This guy Justin Gaethje…one of the major organizations from not that long ago was World Series of Fighting. He held the belt, he was the captain of that organization and he flew that flag.
“For me, it’s another champion under my belt beaten and I’ve made a career out of doing that. I can’t fight for the UFC belt at the minute. I’m realistic and I’m not getting that shot just yet, so this is the next best thing.”
When asked about how the fight would pan out, Alvarez underlined that he has been focusing on “not giving a f**k” in the lead up to the fight and although he cannot see into the future, he guaranteed fireworks at UFC 218.
“I’m not expecting a different guy. If it ain’t broke don’t fix it. His team knows that and his style has gotten him so far,” he said.
“I’m gonna be honest, I don’t f**kin’ know, I don’t have a crystal ball. I don’t know what’s going to happen…I don’t know and I’m not going to lie to the fans.
“I will say this, it’s going to be f**kin’ nuts because I spent a great deal of this training camp working not giving a f**k myself and I’m getting better and better the less I care.
“I don’t have a crystal ball but I can tell fans right now, they better have their popcorn and their soda ready for this fight because it’s going to be something special to watch.”
While he claimed he doesn’t think he will ever get over his title loss to Conor McGregor at Madison Square Garden back at UFC 205, Alvarez is looking forward to contesting for “UFC’s most violent man” when he clashes with Gaethje.
“I only deal with things I can control and right now there’s a whole other title on the line and that’s the ‘UFC most violent man’. And that title is on the line on Dec. 2.”