The scene could not have been more perfect for Eddie Alvarez.
MMA's "Underground King" was defending his UFC lightweight title against the biggest name (and talker) in the sport at Madison Square Garden last November. More than 20,000 raucous fans packed the famous arena to see if he had what it took to shut the brash Irishman up and take his rise in the sport to the next level.
Instead he let Conor McGregor dominate him from the get-go. Alvarez was eventually knocked out midway through the second round after a barrage of punches to the face sent him to the canvas.
It took a great deal of time to get over the lost opportunity, but now, six months later, Alvarez realizes what he learned from the defeat may in fact be greater than if he had won.
"Losing definitely sets a fire in your belly," Alvarez says. "It forces you to deal with some truths that maybe you were neglecting before the loss happened. You need to change forms. That's how you continually grow and get better as a fighter. The wins are important, but the losses are also important. For my own growth, I needed to lose to change faster."
Alvarez (28-5, ESPN's No. 4 in the division) hopes the difference will be seen Saturday night at the American Airlines Center in Dallas when he takes on No. 9-ranked Dustin Poirier (21-5) at UFC 211. Alvarez told MMA Fighting in March that he wanted an opponent whom he could get excited about. His team attempted to find another big draw after McGregor, but guys much closer in rank either couldn't make the fight due to timing, or simply didn't want to go against him.
In the end he went with someone who had good experience and wasn't afraid to brawl. Putting on a show for the fans still means a great deal for Alvarez.
"He's a gamer," Alvarez said of Poirier. "He definitely comes to fight, I'm excited about that. I hope we get into some good exchanges and he's willing to trade a bit."
Poirier is coming off an impressive performance at UFC 208 in February, having defeated Jim Miller by unanimous decision, and has won five of his past six matchups. The American Top Team member has strong submission skills but is most effective with his hands. A majority of his knockouts have come due to exceptional striking skills.
Alvarez, however, admits he's focusing much more on his ability than that of Poirier. If he focuses and executes his game plan, he says, "I can dominate any lightweight in the division." That includes Nate Diaz, who was offered a fight against Alvarez and declined. Diaz told ESPN earlier this week that fighting Alvarez would be like "beating up a sixth-grader," and it held no incentive for him.
Alvarez sees it differently.
"He makes a bunch of things up about why he's not fighting me, or why he doesn't want to fight me," Alvarez says. "As far as opponents and big, large fights that people want to see, I think that is something that the fans would want, something that I would want. We have some unfinished business."
But any serious discussions about that possibility will have to wait. Alvarez first must beat Poirier in what should be one of the most exciting bouts of a stacked UFC 211 card.
A win would prove to fans -- and the UFC -- that what happened last November against McGregor was a fluke. Alvarez wants to show that he deserves once again to have his arm raised in the Octagon with the world championship belt around his waist.
The road to that chance begins Saturday night.
"The plan is to go out there and do it in a fashion that shows the other lightweights, and shows the promotion, that UFC 205 was just a bump in the road -- an accident -- and it will never happen again," Alvarez said. "This is what you'll look forward to after I lose. This is the way I push myself back off the ground; this is the way I deal with adversity, and this is the way I get up. The way I win, and the manner I win, will show that."
