BELLATOR QUOTABLES: Eddie Alvarez won't call himself #1, but believes he can beat anyone in the world

By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

"In my mind, with the things going on around me, I ask myself the same question: What can I control in my life right now? What am I able to do as far as making improvements in my career? The answer is to continually improve my training, be diligent and work hard. All those other things will fall into place. What's in front of me right now is one practice at a time, getting better, improvement. Everything else falls into place. That's been my formula from the beginning. It wasn't to be No. 1 in the world or to remain the champion for so long. It was to fight for a living. That was my only goal. I got to that goal by staying focused on what was in front of me and improving every day...

Pat [Curran] poses a lot of threats. He's young, he's hungry. This is going to be the best condition he's ever been. It better be. He hasn't got the respect of the fans yet, so that fire is still burning. You've got to watch for guys like that. He's talented. He has good fighting instincts. He has the ability to become a champion. Do I think he's ready? I don't think he's ready for what we're about to get into. I don't think there's enough time for him to get ready for what's about to happen on April 2. I'm more prepared than I'm ever going to be for the opponent I'm going to go after. If anything, I train harder for guys like this who aren't well known than I do for other guys...

Rankings are based off your last couple opponents in the last couple years, so there's no way I can say I'm the No. 1 in the world because my opposition hasn't shown so. But, do I think I can beat anyone in the world on any given day? Absolutely. Given the right opponent, any night, I have the ability to beat anyone in the world. Believe that. Don't second guess that."

-Bellator Lightweight Champion Eddie Alvarez talks to MMAFighting.com about his current goals as a fighter, his upcoming title challenger in Bellator and his belief he can beat anyone in the world at lightweight.

Penick's Analysis: Alvarez has the perfect attitude here for a top fighter outside of the UFC. He understands he can't prove himself as the number one guy fighting the level of competition he's against, but he's got the confidence and belief in his abilities to think he can compete and beat anyone in the world. And that very well may be the case. It's unfortunate that a fighter of his level is locked up in a contract that won't allow him to fight the very best of the best in the 155 lb. weight class, but as long as he keeps doing what he's been doing he'll be seen as one of the very best outside of the UFC's roster. Alvarez is an awesome fighter to watch, and his bout with Curran should be highly entertaining later in this season.

[Eddie Alvarez photo by Henry Dziekan (c) MMATorch.com]

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