Eddie Alvarez may be one of the greatest lightweights to ever compete in MMA, but first and foremost, he’s a family man.
The Underground King’s motivation for fighting has changed quite a bit as his career has progressed. While he may have been chasing titles, paydays and the approval of the fans in the past, there are now five people that he fights for – his wife Jamie, his daughter Aniston and his three sons Alister, Anthony and Eddie Jr.
Alvarez returns to the Octagon to face perpetual contender Dustin Poirier at UFC 211 this weekend. It will mark his first fight since losing the title to Conor McGregor in Madison Square Garden last November.
He may have earned a million bucks for that history-making bout with the Notorious, but what he has been filling his time with since is absolutely priceless, as he explained on the MMA Hour in March.
“It’s important for me to fight, but it’s also important for me to take a step back, enjoy my family, enjoy my kids and not just be there, but really kind of be there.”
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It’s funny to think that someone who has consistently been slugging it out with some of the toughest fighters on the planet for over a decade could be afraid of anything. However, he admitted to TMZ that the prospect of fatherhood was something that rocked him more than any haymaker ever could.
“It’s very terrifying because you’re just not sure how you’re going to do. There’s no real book for it, you’ve just kind of do it and hope you’re the right person to be a Dad.”
Just like he does inside the cage though, Alvarez bit down on his mouthpiece, walked into the storm and emerged as a winner. Although he’s been the champion of pretty much every organisation he’s ever fought for, being a Dad is still his greatest achievement to date.
“I’ve been a champion, I’ve been a lot of things, I’ve had no better success in my life, nothing better than being a Dad. That’s my biggest success I’ve had so far.”
Former foe McGregor has just entered this major stage of his life with the birth of Conor Jr. Alvarez has been through all the wars that being a father brings and he predicts that the lightweight champion will be just as successful as a father as he has been as a mixed martial artist.
“He’s doing quite well. I think he’s going to do a good job. If he puts 10% of the effort into his child as he does fighting, I think he’s gonna do dang good. So, I wish him the best of luck.”
Very kind words from the Underground King. Really showing his class.
