Sam Alvey believes the United States has had a ‘huge overreaction’ to coronavirus pandemic

Sam Alvey feels bad for all the people affected by coronavirus, but declared there has been a “huge overreaction” to the pandemic.

With his upcoming fight against Khalil Rountree at UFC on ESPN 8 scrapped, “Smile’n” Alvey reacted to the company’s decision to cancel three upcoming shows. The news came after President Donald Trump declared no more than 10 people should gather at one time.

The outbreak has caused mass confusion, panic buying and self-isolation. Alvey was shocked by the extreme reaction of his fellow Americans.

“I’m very disappointed,” the light heavyweight said to MMA Fighting. “I thought for sure it was going to happen, but I’m still convinced that this pandemic is going to pass in the minds of the American people.

“It’s really embarrassing for me, for our country that it hasn’t yet already. But it’s one of those things. You can’t see the future all the time.”

Sam Alvey remained compassionate to those who are affected. He highlighted that deaths are terrible, but he believes people have completely overreacted.

“It’s a huge overreaction,” the light heavyweight said. “Deaths are terrible, and I’m very sorry for all the families that have suffered through that but pneumonia, just a typical flu season right now has killed close to 20,000 people, and people just don’t pay attention to that.

“It’s terrible that people are getting sick and not that many people are dying, but they still are, and that’s terrible, but when you compare it to any other flu season, even our current flu season, it’s killing 15 to 20,000 people in a three-month span,” Alvey added.

“I still suspect it’s going to be like a light switch. It’s going to turn off and people are going to stop caring. People are just going to be upset that stuff is getting closed. I feel like as fast as this is getting everyone riled up, I think everyone is going to be done with it almost as quickly.”

With his fight cancelled just weeks before it was scheduled to take place, it is uncertain whether Alvey and other fighters will receive compensation for the postponement. So far, he is willing to give Dana White and the UFC, the benefit of the doubt.

“I’m sure Mick Maynard and Sean Shelby and Dana White and everyone at WME are just working around the clock to try and make it right with the fighters,” Alvey said. “Because they always have. They’ve always had our backs, at least I’ve always felt they’ve had my back. I’m sure they’re bending over backwards to try and help and accommodate us however we can.

“We’re going to give them a little bit cause I’m sure their phones are ringing off the hook,” Alvey added. “That’s 24 fighters on a card, three cards have cancelled, that’s 72 fighters, 72 different camps they have to deal with. I’m sure they’re going to do something. I’m going to give them a chance to know where they’re at before we start chatting with them. I really am convinced they’re going to at the very least help us out a little bit. When I was on the Manila card a few years back, it got cancelled about two weeks out and they paid me a little bit for it. They gave me some money and a rescheduled fight right away. So I would be thrilled if that’s the case. I don’t feel like they owe me anything, but I feel like they’ve always bent over backwards to keep us happy and healthy and on good terms with them.”

Sam Alvey also described how the pandemic and uncertainty of his future has affected his family.

“Not going to lie, my family and I, we’re going to have to tighten our belts for a little while,” Alvey said. “I fought in July, I was supposed to fight in November, but I broke my hand. So what was going to be tax money is now living money, and we’re just going to have to budget responsibly and make intelligent decisions with where we spend our money. I’m sure that’s the same as all the staff of the UFC and the staff for every other business that can’t be open. I’m sure they’re going to have to tighten their bootstraps and makes some smart and probably tough decisions.”

Do you think Sam Alvey is right and Americans are overreacting?

This article first appeared on BJPENN.com on 3/19/2020.