Former UFC lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez made his bare-knuckle boxing debut on BKFC 41. He took on former UFC featherweight title contender Chad Mendes in the co-main event of the night. While Chad has fought previously under BKFC, it was Eddie who managed to have the crowd’s support. While he received thunderous cheers throughout the night, it was his wife, Jamie Alvarez’s voice that trumped them all.
Fans in the arena and throughout the broadcast, heard Jamie scream out Eddie’s name. She was fully invested in the fight and rooted for her husband throughout the 5-round bout. While it is natural for a wife to cheer for her husband, many fans made fun of it. However, The Underground King is having none of it! Following his split-decision win over Chad Mendes, Alvarez appeared on “The MMA Hour” to speak about the fight.
During the Interview, host Ariel Helwani asked Eddie about the support he received from Jamie Alvarez. It seemed like Eddie was aware that Jamie was trolled for her constant screaming. However, the 39-year-old was extremely supportive of his wife. Eddie revealed that Jamie was his high school sweetheart and the mother of his 4 children. Hence, Eddie appreciated Jamie’s undying support for him.
Eddie Alvarez asked if he can hear his wife when he is fighting.#TheMMAHour pic.twitter.com/T9fxGDDwUm
— Jed I. Goodman © (@jedigoodman) May 1, 2023
He said, “My wife’s been watching me fight — we met each other when we were 15 years old. We have four children together. I am her f—king guy and if something happens to me, now you can feel her pain and what she’s feeling. She has my four children, man. She’s my f—king ride or die. She can’t control what’s going on and her yelling or her screaming, that’s how she feels… It’s genuine so if you don’t like it, deal with it. But it’s f—king genuine. I hear her and so does everyone else (laughs). We all hear her.” (h/t via MMA Mania)
Eddie Alvarez appreciated receiving directions from Conor McGregor
Jamie Alvarez was not the only significant person to root for Eddie. During the bout, He also received instructions from his former rival, Conor McGregor. McGregor decided to attend the event and even went inside the ring to face off against Mike Perry, who defeated Luke Rockhold via TKO in the main event. However, he also played a significant role in the co-main event as well.
As fans know, McGregor has faced and beaten both Chad Mendes and Eddie Alvarez. Hence, he is aware of both of their weaknesses. During the third round of the co-main event, Eddie cornered Mendes with about 20 seconds left. At that point, Conor started to direct Eddie and asked him to land an uppercut. Adhering to Conor’s advice, Alvarez went for the uppercut and landed it beautifully. Afterward, he even acknowledged Conor by pointing at him.
Conor McGregor given Eddie Alvarez advice from ringside 👀
— Lewis Simpson (@LewisSimpsonMMA) April 30, 2023
pic.twitter.com/iTWXTRztoW
Speaking about that during his “The MMA Hour” appearance, Eddie said, “Well, Conor yelled at (me). He was yelling at (me) for an uppercut. I was kinda recognizing that Chad was hitching, he was doing a little hitch before he came under and Conor picked it up… As soon as he yelled uppercut I’m like ‘I got it, I see it, I see it’ and then I landed and I was like ‘good call.’ It was a good moment. He recognized it, I recognized it and then that was that.”
Eddie Alvarez talks about hearing Conor McGregor calling for shots from ringside 👂 #TheMMAHour
— MMAFighting.com (@MMAFighting) May 1, 2023
“As soon as he yelled uppercut, I’m like, ‘I got it, I see it, I see it.’ Then I landed and I was like, ‘Good call.’”
▶️ https://t.co/lnf6OE07Pj pic.twitter.com/beKdUHn0qI
Although Eddie fell short against Conor McGregor at UFC 205, the former champ does not hold any grudges. He was happy to see Conor in attendance and applauded him for paving the way for other MMA fighters to make a decent living.
So what did you make of Eddie Alvarez receiving instructions from Conor McGregor? Let us know in the comments down below.