Eddie Alvarez has been trying to pick a fight with Conor McGregor and he finally got it. Earlier this week, it was announced that Alvarez-McGregor will headline UFC 205 in Madison Square Garden. It's only the second champion vs. champion bout in UFC history, behind Georges St-Pierre vs. BJ Penn 2.
At the press conference on Tuesday, McGregor showed his usual level of braggadocio, predicting a first-round KO of the lightweight champion and declaring himself to be worth $4.2 billion. Alvarez held his own in the verbal sparring, telling McGregor he had a "little kid belt" and that the lightweight belt was staying in Philly.
Later in the week, Alvarez continued his gamesmanship by appearing on the Talking Brawls podcast to discuss his upcoming fight with McGregor and why he was so adamant about wanting to fight McGregor at 205.
"I'm a prize fighter. This will be the biggest prize to date but here's the thing: he wants my belt. He says, ‘beg, beg, beg' but he wants my belt. My money's already my money. It's already cashed, there ain't nothing he's gonna do about that. It's my money. The belt, he ain't sniffing at this belt. He ain't got a shot at this belt. So I'm getting what I want at the end of the day. He will not get what he wants."
Alvarez as the lightweight champion has a certain percentage of pay-per-view points tied into each of his fights with the UFC and McGregor is the biggest star in the sport's history. McGregor's rematch with Nate Diaz at UFC 202 did an estimated 1.2-1.5 million buys. McGregor headlining the UFC's debut at Madison Square Garden in a champion vs. champion match with two other title fights on the card looks poised to shatter the UFC PPV record, meaning Alvarez will be making a tidy sum come November.
Alvarez maintains it's not just about the money though. The lightweight champ says he was tired of people asking him about McGregor despite beating opponents he views as better than the featherweight kingpin. While he acknowledges that McGregor is a talented fighter, Alvarez believes him to be overhyped because of a padded record.
"He's single-handedly picked the best style matchups for himself all throughout his reign in the UFC. If you look carefully, you understand that this guy hasn't put himself against a guy that can threaten him on the ground. The only one he's done that against is Chad Mendes on late notice because he had to. Other than that, he fought off stand up fighters who don't do ground attacks at all. So he got to be able to be himself and not have to adjust ever to anybody else's strengths."
Alvarez believes he has the wrestling and grappling to control McGregor on the ground and make it a bad night for him and unlike Mendes on short notice, he believes he can do it for the full 25 minutes. But that's not all. Alvarez says that wrestling isn't his only way to win. The lightweight champ believes he has the advantage anywhere the fight goes.
"I'll do whatever the f*ck I want in any aspect against him. The opponents he's fought allow him to look great. That's the issue. That's what these WWF fans who follow him don't see. They see a guy who's fighting or playing to his strengths so he can do what he wants and be good at it.
"I'll do whatever the f*ck I want. If I want to stand, I'll stand. He don't move his head, he gets hit a ton. Chad Mendes has a tiny little reach and was popping him all over the place with overhand rights and left hooks before he took him down. His defense is atrocious. His offense is good. He's offensively a good fighter when it comes to boxing and things but his defense is f*cking terrible.
"A guy like me, I can go wherever. I can kick, I can punch, I can takedown, I can submit, and I can do it all fucking night."
After McGregor's loss to Nate Diaz earlier this year, many perceive cardio to be a weakness of his. And while he did go a full 25 minutes against Diaz in the rematch, including winning the fourth round, many still believe McGregor slows down considerably after the first eight minutes. Alvarez has fought into the championship rounds on three separate occasions, winning two of those bouts.
But Alvarez doesn't think he'll need all that cardio. Like McGregor, the lightweight champ is predicting a short night for himself.
"I think I hit him with a hard, clean f*cking shot, he goes down and I submit him. He gets hit with every left hook you throw. I could close my eyes and hit his big ass head."
Alvarez faces McGregor on Nov. 12 at UFC 205 in New York.
The entire interview is here. Eddie also tells a funny story about Conor beating the crap out of Artem Lobov and a sad story about growing up of mixed Irish-Puerto Rican decent. It's a really good interview and one you should definitely listen to.
MUST-READ STORIES
Batfleck. A bunch of celebrities have invested in the UFC including Ben Affleck and Serena Williams.
What does that matter? John Lineker believes a win over John Dodson makes him more deserving of a title shot than Cody Garbrandt.
1.7 million buys?? John Dodson compares his upcoming fight with John Lineker to McGregor vs. Diaz.
Fight the power. Wanderlei Silva supports Jose Aldo's battle against the UFC.
Gone forever? Gabriel Gonzaga is retiring barring a six-figure offer.
EXTRA CREDIT READING
Fighter pay. John Nash delves into how much UFC fighters actually make. Well worth a read.
MEDIA STEW
UFC just uploaded Don Frye's Hall of Fame speech.
Robin Black's keys to victory for this weekend.
This thing got me legit hyped.
Gastelum and Romero visit New York FC.
LISTEN UP
JBS.
Bushido
TWEETS
That's a big trout.
Landed my record #rainbowtrout! 26in 10.4lbs, 30 minutes to land n had a great release, so this giant is back in the river getting bigger. pic.twitter.com/aAZovwQxZG
— Court McGee (@Court_McGee) September 30, 2016
Amazing.
Lamas is preparing to go back 10 years in time, remarkable, will defy laws of physics. https://t.co/aYRGe7pvZb
— superCalo (@superCalo) September 29, 2016
The women's BW champ is a savage.
You Monster. @Amanda_Leoa pic.twitter.com/5amAXmujFH
— Nina Ansaroff (@NinaAnsaroff) September 29, 2016
Cyborg is going in on Ronda lately.
Remember when you said this #RondaRousey @Canadian10101 @RondaRousey pic.twitter.com/1Lz4NdicOu
— Cris Cyborg (@criscyborg) September 29, 2016
Definitely.
Is it me, or does young Alec Baldwin bear a striking resemblance to Luke Rockhold? pic.twitter.com/qqtNHPT9O1
— Stephie Haynes (@CrooklynMMA) September 28, 2016
@CrooklynMMA the mans got style
— Luke Rockhold (@LukeRockhold) September 29, 2016
Nate's reach gave Conor problems. Conan's might be too much.
He's trying.
Stipe is dope.
FIGHT ANNOUNCEMENTS
Gian Villante (14-7-0) vs. Patrick Cummins (8-4-0); UFC Fight Night 102, December 9.
Jamie Moyle (3-1-0) vs. Kailin Curran (4-3-0); UFC TUF 24 Finale, December 3.
Cezar Ferreira (10-5-0) vs. Jack Hermansson (14-2-0); UFC Fight Night 100, November 19.
Mark Godbeer (11-2-0) vs. Justin Ledet (7-0-0, 1 NC); UFC Fight Night 99, November 19.
Timothy Johnson (10-2-0) vs. Alexander Volkov (26-6-0); UFC Fight Night 99, November 19.
TODAY IN MMA HISTORY
2010: Jose Aldo knocked out Manny Gambruyan to defend his featherweight championship at WEC 51. This event also featured the first Zuffa win of Demetrious Johnson's career as he won a decision victory over Nick Pace in a bantamweight contest as the opening bout of the evening.
FINAL THOUGHTS
And party on dudes. See you Monday.
If you find something you'd like to see in the Morning Report, just hit me up on Twitter @JedKMeshew and let me know about it. Also follow MMAFighting on Instagram and add us on Snapchat at MMA-Fighting because we post dope things and you should enjoy them.