Eddie Alvarez blasts Dana White and UFC over Francis Ngannou situation: “The business works perfect when everyone is broke.”
Former UFC lightweight champion, Eddie Alvarez, slams the UFC and Dana White over the handling of the Francis Ngannou situation.
This past weekend it was announced that the UFC and Ngannou would part ways and the former heavyweight title holder would be stripped of his title. This comes after a long and ugly dispute between Ngannou and the UFC over pay and contract details.
Now, the consensus No.1 heavyweight in the world will test free agency and potentially a move to boxing, leaving many questions unanswered and matchups unmade.
Eddie Alvarez reacts
It’s been a rough few weeks for the UFC, certainly in terms of public perception, and fighters and media alike have certainly not held back on piling on. This time it’s the turn of 155lb veteran, Alvarez, who himself has had a rocky relationship with the UFC.
Alvarez would make several posts on social media, first criticizing UFC president, White, for his reaction to how the situation unfolded.
‘[UFC] simply lost the bid for Francis, instead of admitting that, they go with the narrative the the scariest motherf***** alive is afraid to fight in the UFC. Hahahahahahahahahahaha. These jokes write themselves. #PHSUnreal’- Eddie Alvarez
‘The Underground King’ would then comment on an Instagram post, calling out the UFC for their business practices and treatment of fighters.
“Nobody in the UFC is “afraid” of anyone,” Alvarez said. “The men who fight there are there to fight the best… The UFC is afraid to pay fighters, this is the only reason people leave. Fighters don’t give a f*** who the next opponent is, they do care about what the pay will be. Keep it real and just say, ‘We lost the bid, someone is paying more,’ and end it there.
“It’s counterintuitive to pay fighters large purses because they become less cooperative and more [independent]. The business works perfect when everyone is broke and begging to fight at the drop of a hat. Cooperation is key. Large purses disrupt their own business.”
Alvarez was the Bellator lightweight champion before switching over to the UFC back in in 2014. He enjoyed a successful run with the company, of course capturing the 155lb title and defeating the likes of Justin Gaethje, Anthony Pettis, and Rafael dos Anjos. The 39-year-old last fought in 2021 for One Championship.
Do you agree with Eddie Alvarez?
