Eddie Alvarez admits he was taken aback when the crowd at the UFC 205 press conference greeted him with jeers.

"I mean, given the reaction of that crowd, it kind of was weird, I definitely didn't expect that," the UFC lightweight champion said on Monday's edition of The MMA Hour.

But after pausing and taking in the scene last week at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City, he also decided that the sort of fans who will boo him at a presser aren't the ones he wants in his corner.

"It just sort of reiterated to me what his fan base is," Alvarez said. "His fan base is him. They're people who, it's all perception. It seems like he has a lot of WWE fans, guys who don't know much about fighting at all, they are just like him. You can have them fans, they're not the fans I want anyway. You can boo all day long."

As far as Alvarez, who used to be known as "The Underground King," is concerned, he can live without having the casual fans in his corner as long as hardcore fans of the sport rally around his cause.

"I don't want fans who don't know s**t about MMA," Alvarez said. "I'd rather have a fan who knows the sport, enjoys the sport, and can see value."