Former UFC Lightweight Champion Eddie Alvarez earned a brutal knockout win over former WSOF Lightweight Champion Justin Gaethje at UFC 218.
Alavrez said the fight was for the “Most Violent Fighter Title” and he created it because the former champion claims UFC belts don’t have any real value.
“Right now, sh*t just isn’t defined with the title,” Alvarez said on The MMA Hour. “And to be honest, there’s not a lot of value in it. What value is in it? There’s an interim guy who beat the No. 7 guy to become the champion. That’s not a champion. You can’t bring the No. 7 ranked guy in and then put him against the No 1 contender and he beats him and says now you’re the champion. That’s silly in any organization, any sport, anything. So the champion isn’t defending. So now the value of the belt loses its value. So for me I’m like, let’s make another belt, whoever is the Most Violent. We can make up whatever belts we want.”
The UFC has two lightweight title holders at the moment, with Conor McGregor as the UFC Lightweight Champion and Tony Ferguson as the UFC Interim Lightweight Champion.
Speaking of both champions, one thing that Alvarez is assuming is that neither lightweight champion will compete again until they battle each other.
“I’m a realist,” Alvarez said. “My eye’s always on that gold belt. I feel like I f*cked up, I lost my belt, and I’m pissed about it. But I’m being realistic. I can’t, we can’t make Conor get back in there, he’s going to ask for certain [things], it’s gonna take awhile for that guy to defend that. Tony is waiting for Conor. Tony is going to sit, he’s gonna wait for that Conor fight and try to get that big payday.”
There is no word yet on when a potential title unification bout between Ferguson and McGregor could happen, leaving the lightweight division at a logjam at the moment.
