.vresize.36.36.medium.0.png){kind=small}
.vresize.36.36.medium.0.png){kind=small}
Eddie Alvarez on his loss to Conor McGregor: 'I (expletive) blew it'
Eddie Alvarez had the perfect strategy going into his fight against Conor McGregor but there was one major problem: He failed to use it.
The now former lightweight champion looked back on his disastrous outing against McGregor this past Saturday night, and he admits that he failed to follow the game plan set up by his coaches, who studied the Irishman extensively leading up to the historic card in Madison Square Garden.
In an extensive post on Instagram, Alvarez congratulated McGregor on his accomplishment while also admitting the mistakes he made that led to the title changing hands.
"Congrats to Conor and his camp on an amazing accomplishment, these guys continue to deliver, hats off to you fellas," Alvarez wrote. "As for my performance, the only thing I can honestly say was I (expletive) blew it. I did nothing I trained, I did the complete opposite of what we planned on a daily basis for 10 weeks.
"To sum up our plan in a sentence it was "Go left and mostly wrestle". Instead I circled into his left hand and mostly boxed. Fighting the way I did was a for sure death sentence and the result was fitting."
Alvarez was repeatedly peppered by McGregor's left hand, which is well known as his best power punch.
The Philadelphia native tasted McGregor's punches several times in the first round before going down and out in the second that forced a stop to the contest.
In a sport where a fighter is often defined by a performance encapsulated by no more than 25 minutes spent in a cage, Alvarez knows he failed to live up to expectations and that's a regret he'll have to live with for the rest of his life.
"I say it all the time, there is really small margin for error at this level and I paid for my mistakes. I managed to make it to the biggest stage and audience in my long career and (expletive) it all up when I arrived, my heart sincerely hurts and when I dwell on it I fill up with regret and anger," Alvarez said. "If there was a list of what not to do against an opponent of this nature I did them all on Saturday.
"I am disappointed in myself and this is not a reflection of my coaches, training partners, and the endless hours of training I commit to this sport. Every time I get into the cage I negotiate being vulnerable and possibly embarrassed against the opportunity to do something great and grow more. I always choose the latter regardless of the uncomfortability and anxiety it brings to me, I think this choice is the only reason I ever succeeded in the first place. I thought in my head at least making a lot of money would make me happy but I am having a lot of trouble enjoying myself regardless of the check that's going to be written. I am very uneasy and discontent for the most part. I am lucky to have my wife and my child at a time like this to help me laugh and smile and let me know everything's gonna be all right, they are my saving Grace, without them I am a shell of a man."
The loss to McGregor snapped Alvarez's three-fight win streak and obviously cost him the lightweight title at the same time. Clearly, Alvarez knows what he did wrong and now it's only a matter of correcting those mistakes before making his return to the Octagon in 2017.
