Forne lättviktsmästaren Eddie Alvarez går sin sista match på kontraktet när han möter Dustin Poirier under huvudmatchen i Calgary i helgen. Om han förlorar kommer det att bli svårare för honom att förhandla till sig ett nytt kontrakt som är bättre, men om han vinner kan det innebära mycket pengar.
Här förklarar Alvarez varför han tar risken, via ’The MMA Hour’:
I don’t think there’s any reason why not to — that’s why. I haven’t been given any reason why not to. I guess that’s the best I can say. If I was given enough where I thought, ‘Hey, it’s not worth the risk,’ I’d say, ‘OK, I’m not gonna roll the dice here, this is very good, this is what I feel I’m worth and I’m just gonna keep going and going.’ But I haven’t really been given a good enough offer to not take the risk that I’m willing to take.
Alvarez hoppas på ett nytt kontrakt och att lönen då inte kommer att skilja sig allt för mycket.
I think we’d get a deal done for sure. We’re just not there yet. I know with the UFC, you never know when you strike a deal. But I’m patient. I’ve learned to be patient, because in the past I’ve gotten ahead of myself and maybe left a lot of money on the table. I don’t know. I think what’s fair is fair and every fighter, it’s a very individual thing, how much each fighter deserves and should get paid. I think I bring a lot of value and when I fight I make this company a lot of money and I make a lot of fans excited. I want to be shared with a little bit more than what I’m being shared with. That’s all.
I don’t believe [the amount I want is] significant, no. Considering how much the company makes, no. It’s peanuts — it’s a quarter. They’d be flicking me a quarter, considering what they make when I fight. What I’m asking for is not just what i feel I deserve right now. In the past eight fights, I look at who I fought — co-main and main events, some of the largest cards in UFC history. With the McGregor fight, sell out crowd, selling out MSG. I’ve been involved in some pretty lucrative and I feel like I should be shared with a little more considering. It is what it is. That’s business, man. That’s just the way it goes sometimes.
Alvarez har 3 vinster, 1 förlust (mot Conor McGregor) och en no-contest i sina 5 senaste matcher och ett record på 29-5. Matchen mot Poirier äger rum under UFC on FOX i Calgary i Alberta, Kanada den 28 juli.
