Eddie Alvarez Says Dustin Poirier’s Personal Grudge Against Him is ‘Foolish’

Eddie Alvarez spoke with reporters ahead of his fight with Dustin Poirier at UFC on FOX 30. Highlights are below, per MMAjunkie:

On Poirier having a grudge against him: “We do what we do, but if that’s the perception he gets, I think that’s just from one fight, from one experience, from one tweet. I respect everything this man’s done. Everybody who’s on this journey in the lightweight division, everybody’s tough. Dustin’s went against the best guys, put on hell of fights. He’d be a fool to think that about me. He don’t know me. Personally for him to say, ‘I don’t like him personally,’ that’s foolish. He don’t know me personally.”

On the fight being a five-round bout: “I think Poirier’s more of an undercard fighter (with) three five-minute rounds. I think it’s very easy to get in that habit and used to that. I consider it a vacation or a night off when the UFC allows me to be on an undercard on a three five-minute round fight. That is a blessing for me. I love that. It takes years off my life.”

On a possible title fight with Khabib Nurmagomedov: “The next fight that makes sense for me – there’s no one – I simply just don’t see no gain anywhere except for Khabib. That’s it. I can’t see them putting anyone else in front of me. It just don’t make any sense. For where I’m at in my career and the people I went against, I fight back-to-back-to-back the hardest resume. You name another fighter or anybody in the lightweight division who has fought the toughest guys. You’re hard-pressed to find that guy. I’m that guy.”