Alvarez: ‘I Couldn’t See Melendez After My Eye Injury’

Eddie Alvarez and Gilbert Melendez left it all in the octagon earlier this month when the two lightweights clashed at UFC 188. Mexico City, Mexico hosted their long awaited bout which did not live up to expectations right off the bat. Alvarez suffered a gruesome eye injury in the opening round.

Alvarez took a stiff shot which caused a break in his orbital bone as well as his nose. He made a striker’s mistake and blew the blood out of his nose which caused his eye to swell up within seconds.

“I didn’t know where he was,” Alvarez told The MMA Hour. “I didn’t know if he was three foot from me, five foot from me or a foot away from me. I think I threw a check hook at some point and the guy was nowhere near me and I kind of laughed to myself during the fight. My range was way off, because I couldn’t see out of my back eye.”

Still, Alvarez utilized his wrestling skills to steal the second and third rounds and ultimately the split decision victory. The win boosted him up several spots in the rankings, and he actually credits his win to the injury.

“I think at that point I became more dangerous than I would have been it if I didn’t have it,” Alvarez stated. “Because if he was to step in the pocket, I was gonna throw stuff that was basically like a guy who was willing to die. Because that’s how I felt. I was a little bit nervous for my own safety. That kind of put Gil in more of a dangerous situation because of how nervous I was.”

Who would you like to see Eddie Alvarez face next? Nate Diaz? Anthony Pettis? Share your thoughts in the comment section below!

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