The new mini documentary “UFC Battle Lines” gives a quick inside-look into the training camps of UFC lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos and his next challenger Eddie Alvarez.
Dos Anjos, who has been isolating himself in Singapore for his training camp, reminisces the time before he was a UFC fighter and barely could make a living. Remembering those hardships in his native Brazil helps him to overcome the downsides of a grueling training camp, like being separated from his beloved family for so long.
“I have no distraction, I focus 100 percent on my training, my rest, my recovery. I love my family, but in life, when you wanna get things, when you wanna achieve your goals, you need to make sacrifices,” he said. “People see me as a champion, but they have no idea what a fighter has to pass through.
“I work a lot to be here,” he continued. “I passed through good, bad moments. He’s got his chance, he’s trying to take my dreams, crush my dreams, but nobody can take these away from me.”
On the other side of the globe, former Bellator champion Eddie Alvarez gets prepped in his hometown of Philadelphia, and has a blunt response for the 155-pound kingpin.
“Nothing gets me more f-cking excited than when someone says, ‘This is not gonna happen’. ‘I told you so’ is my favorite thing to tell people.”
You can watch the whole video above. Dos Anjos and Alvarez will fight for the UFC lightweight title at UFC Fight Night 90 on July 7 in Las Vegas, NV.