Eddie Alvarez

Where most kids play stickball and hockey, I'd walk down the streets with two sets of boxing gloves and knock on my friend's door and see if he wanted to box. There were boxing gyms on every corner. ”

If I can put the right guy with the right mouthpiece in front of the right opponents, we can build a champion, but he doesn't really have to beat the best guys; we just have to give him the right matchups. ”

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. ”

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. ”

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. ”

I'm my own biggest critic, so no matter what was being said in the media or being said by fans, I feel the worst when I disappoint myself. ”

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. ”

From wrestling, I learned that I was capable of much more than I thought I was. ”

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 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. ”