Eddie Alvarez has learned to live with the outcome of UFC 205, but that does not mean he is comfortable with what happened against Conor McGregor.
Alvarez entered Madison Square Garden as the East Coast hero tasked with fending off the unstoppable force of McGregor. "The Notorious" one was intent on becoming the UFC's first-ever two-division titleholder, and "The Underground King" desired to stop him. McGregor put forth a dominant one-sided effort, dropping Alvarez multiple times before stopping him in round two.
Looking back on the moment, Alvarez — now a ONE Championship contender — admits the emotional and psychological wounds will never fully heal.
"I'll never be okay with that. I'm a competitor," Alvarez told Fightful. "I know what I'm capable of. I'd be lying if I told someone, 'It's in the past, I'm over it.' It sucks, I'll never be okay with that. Anybody at my level and anybody who wants to compete at a high level and puts their life into this sport, they won't be okay with a loss like that."
"I've forgiven myself. I know in order to move on and compete at a high level, I have to put it to bed. But it's something that will drive me," he continued. "One of those 'never again' type situations. It is what it is. I try to make sense of it and there is no sense to be made. I fist-fight for a living. Fist-fighting is the most unpredictable sport in the world. There is no other sport more uncertain than what we do. I live in uncertainty. Most of the time I come out on top, some nights aren't your best. That's what I kind of have to settle with."
UFC 205 took place at Madison Square Garden in New York City on November 12, 2016.
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