The odds for Alvarez/Poirier 2 have yet to be released, but Eddie Alvarez has already decided to bet on himself.
At the beginning of the month, Alvarez made one thing clear in his visit to the MMA Hour: he wasn’t fighting again without a new contract:
“It’s not f*cking happening,” he said. “I’m not fighting until I get a new deal.”
So when Alvarez tweeted “See you in Calgary,” it seemed fair to assume that the ink was yet to dry on a satisfactory new deal with the promotion. But as it happens, Eddie Alvarez revealed on the MMA Hour Monday that this is not the case.
“Nothing changed. I’m still speaking with the UFC.” Alvarez elaborated, “Originally, Dustin’s people weren’t going to take the fight. I don’t know if they believed or thought, ‘Eddie got more money, and Eddie signed a new, great deal and new contract,’ and I just wanted to clear the air that I’m betting on myself. There wasn’t a new contract signed.”
Following Alvarez’s tweet last week, it seemed inevitable that we would be treated to a rematch of the Texas slugout, what with how much Poirier has campaigned to run it back. But with Alvarez’s acceptance coming after the deadline Poirier set forth for Alvarez to sign on for the rematch, it was questionable if the fight would be happening after all. So if it wasn’t a new contract that swayed Alvarez, what was it?
“I sat down with Dana and the UFC, and we’re still talking. There was no deal signed. But there’s a point in every fighter’s career where sometimes you roll the dice on yourself.” Alvarez continued, “Rather than elongate the process and say, I’m not gonna fight and stomp my foot down and be a baby, I said let’s fight, you know? Let’s just fight.”
If their first duel is any indication, there is one thing we can count on come July 28th: fight they will, and what a fight it will be.
Should Eddie Alvarez have held out for a new contract before accepting the rematch with Poirier?
