UFC 218: Eddie Alvarez and Justin Gaethje fighting for title of ‘UFC’s Most Violent Man’

Eddie Alvarez has made it a habit of beating former world champions, taking out the likes of Shinya Aoki, Anthony Pettis, and Gilbert Melendez. This Saturday night (Dec. 2, 2017), Eddie will look to add another notch to his belt as he faces off against former World Series of Fighting (WSOF) champion Justin Gaethje at UFC 218 in Detroit, Michigan.

And though there won’t be a world title on the line -- or even a chance to vie for the strap with a win -- Alvarez says he and Justin are fighting for an entirely different title.

“I only deal with things I can control and right now there’s a whole other title on the line and that’s the ‘UFC’s most violent man’ and that title is on the line on Dec. 2,” said Alvarez during a recent interview on The MMA Hour (via MMA Fighting).

While he doesn’t want to even predict how the fight will play out, he will go on record saying it will be special for all combat sports fans as both he and “Highlight” are known for throwing hands.

“I’m gonna be honest, I don’t fuckin’ know, I don’t have a crystal ball. I don’t know what’s going to happen… I don’t know and I’m not going to lie to the fans. I will say this, it’s going to be fuckin’ nuts because I spent a great deal of this training camp working not giving a fuck myself and I’m getting better and better the less I care,” added the former Lightweight champion.

“I don’t have a crystal ball but I can tell fans right now, they better have their popcorn and their soda ready for this fight because it’s going to be something special to watch.”

Known for pushing the pace and for rarely taking steps back, Gaethje quickly made an impression in his Octagon debut by knocking out Michael Johnson in a highly-entertaining affair.

According to Alvarez, that style won’t work with him.

“There’s not really a gameplan to be honest with you. Justin has been able to pressure people and cut them off and has done really well. I don’t think that the strategy that I’m able to apply because I’m an athlete… the guys that he has been facing don’t seem to be doing what they should do,” he explained.

“I have the answer to what these other guys haven’t been able to do and I’m really excited. This has been the most improvement that I’ve made since I’ve been in the UFC.”

And he’s not going to be anyone’s stepping stone, either.