Every UFC champion knows that when you don the gold around your waist, you also carry a massive bullseye on your back. When you’re just one week removed from capturing the belt in dominant fashion, the challengers tend to be a lot more chirpy.
Freshly-minted UFC lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez (pictured) now knows that more than ever.
After submitting Landon Vannata Wednesday at UFC Fight Night 91 in a surprisingly competitive fight, Tony Ferguson wasn’t shy about requesting first dibs at Alvarez’s hardware. Ferguson, currently ranked third in the UFC’s deep lightweight division, has rattled off eight consecutive victories.
Ferguson finished off six of those victims before the final horn.
Not to be outdone, #1 ranked lightweight Khabib Nurmagomedov called out the champ via Twitter:
Hello @Ealvarezfight answer the boss phone call let's do this by the way congratulations 👊🏾👊🏾
— khabib nurmagomedov (@TeamKhabib) July 14, 2016
Nurmagomedov is perfect through 23 professional outings, though has struggled beating the injury bug over the past two years. The 27-year-old has only fought twice since 2014, most recently overwhelming Darrell Horcher in April.
Alvarez appears to be on vacation, but kept close tabs on Ferguson’s fight and his Twitter timeline. The former Bellator champion made it clear that as UFC champ, he will respond to all challengers on his own time:
Auto Response: @TonyFergusonXT @TeamKhabib Out of the office right now sipping pina colada's I get back to You At "My" earliest convenience
— Edward Alvarez (@Ealvarezfight) July 14, 2016