http://mmarecap.com/news/Recapping_With_Eddie_Alvarez_-_Im_A_Big_Fan_Of_Myself-1006 Do you plan on fighting again in DREAM this year? "I dont believe so, I believe Bellator will keep me busy enough to where I dont have to. Thats something Ill have to talk to my manager about and see whats going on." What have you learned from the loss to Shinya Aoki? And would you like a rematch with Aoki? "Absolutely, in my loss to Aoki I think I thought about things to much and it caused me to be a bit hesitant where I usually aint that hesitant. I caught Aoki in the very beginning of the fight, and instead of going in finishing; I just kinda let him be. I didnt have him completely knocked out, but I had him shook up a little bit and I shouldve went in and finished, and that was the biggest discrepancy." "When he was standing up and when he was in my realm, I didnt try to go in for the finish fast enough. But when he got me down and we were in his world, he took the opportunity to go after my leg and finish as fast as possible. There was a couple things I learned from that fight and it just caused me to be a better fighter thats all." Where do you feel you rank in the lightweight division? "I believe they have me in the correct ranking now. I fought Aoki, Aoki beat me, so theres no way I can say Im ranked higher than Aoki or BJ Penn for that matter. Put me at number three. I think where Im at now is exactly where I should be. I have to do things to prove myself in order to get ranked any higher, so thats what Im working on. Thats what Im going to continue to strive to do, is to continue to bump myself in the rankings." Alvarez's take on MMA Rankings In General. "I think rankings are just a way of negotiating money for yourself, it doesnt mean you can beat everyone else thats below you. Its just kind of a scoring system it doesnt mean that youre a better fighter that youre a better fighter than anyone thats lower or higher than you, its just a way of categorizing us." Whats your take on Bellator continuing to have tournaments with the winner getting a shot at you? "I like it, I think Im going to fight before the tournament, hopefully so I can stay active. It gives me a chance to be entertained, to see the new crop of guys coming in. I figure itll be fun and itll keep things exciting, new and fresh. And the guy who does win it truly deserves a shot, and like Bjorn says its not some guy in a suit what match ups he thinks are better, or what match ups will make the most money for the promotion. Its about as honest as you can get, and theres never going to be any discrepancy of who gets the next title shot or who doesnt." Who would you like to fight next? "I dont have anyone preferably BJ Penn or Shinya Aoki theyre the only ones ranked ahead of me. Unfortunately I dont think thats able to happen right now, so Im going to have to fight whoever they put in front of me and just win in devastating fashion to prove to people that I deserve a shot at the people who are ranked higher than me."
