Former Bellator and former UFC lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez recently reached the end of his contract with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Now the former title holder has come forward to offer some details on his latest fight contract.
UFC News
Rather than renewing his contract with the UFC, Eddie Alvarez decided to try out free agency after the expiration of his recent deal with the world’s most famous mixed martial arts promotion. Alvarez has since signed a historic fight contract with ONE Championship.
Speaking on Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show, Eddie Alvarez recently revealed that his new fight contract is worth a massive eight-figures.
“When I left the table at the UFC and said I wanted to go and explore, this is the deal I had in my mind. One made me a partner in their promotion. It was more of a partnership than, ‘Hey, come on as a fighter. Here’s your money to fight,’ and that’s it. They made me a true partner. It’s a package deal. It’s nothing like a normal MMA contract. They fully committed to me, and we are full committing back.”
“I would be curious for the next four years. I’d be ripping the little bit of hair I have left on my head thinking about, ‘Was there a deal out there? Was there a monster deal I wasn’t thinking about?’ I would have not been able to sleep at night re-signing a deal and not knowing what my full potential was.”
“The value of free agency today is so incredible. For any fighter to give that up is foolish. If you really want to make money in this sport and test how much you’re worth, you become a free agent. I would say there’s no other option.
“Leverage always goes to the man who is willing to walk. There hasn’t been one single contract during my career where I wasn’t willing to walk if I felt like I wasn’t going to get paid what I felt I was worth. If you’re willing to walk, you hold all of the cards.”
“Monetarily did it hurt me? No. Not at all. There’s a lot of promotions with a lot of money, and there isn’t a lot of free agents. There’s barely any. So it’s supply and demand.”
