Eddie Alvarez appreciated Conor McGregor‘s advice during his bare-knuckle boxing debut, which led to a viral moment between the two fighters.
Eddie Alvarez was pleased to share a moment with Conor McGregor this past weekend during his bare-knuckle boxing debut. Alvarez won a hard-fought split decision over Chad Mendes in the co-main event of BKFC 41. The event was so highly anticipated that McGregor showed up to ringside to watch the fights and even offered Alvarez some advice during the battle. Alvarez acted on McGregor’s advice, and the resulting clip from the event went viral.
Alvarez recounted the events on Monday during an interview with Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour. He explained that during the fight, he was in the zone and listening to his coach, Mark Henry, who was yelling codes. McGregor noticed an opportunity for Alvarez to land an uppercut, which Alvarez executed and then pointed to McGregor, saying, “Good call.” Alvarez noted that McGregor was also providing advice to Mendes, as he did not have a stake in the outcome and simply wanted to see a good fight.
Although he had no negative feelings towards McGregor, Alvarez did not have a chance to speak with him at the event. Instead, McGregor stayed for the main event and even engaged in a friendly faceoff with Mike Perry afterward. Later, McGregor hinted at potentially making the jump from MMA to bare-knuckle boxing one day, a move Alvarez believes would be successful due to McGregor’s exceptional boxing skills.
Alvarez further praised McGregor’s boxing prowess and his team’s intelligence in picking up on opponents’ weaknesses. He acknowledged that the clinch in bare-knuckle boxing is different than in MMA and that the cleaner, better boxer doesn’t always win. However, Alvarez is confident that McGregor would do well in the sport. Although McGregor is currently under contract with the UFC and slated to return against Michael Chandler later in the year, Alvarez expressed interest in a potential rematch with McGregor, saying, “I’d f****** love it. Bring it. Every day, all day.”