Eddie Alvarez: After I Beat Conor McGregor, I’ll Make UFC Great Again

UFC lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez will have the spotlight shone on him the brightest he ever has in his mixed martial arts (MMA) career, as he is set to defend his title against ‘The Notorious One’ Conor McGregor in the main event of UFC 205 from the legendary Madison Square Garden arena.

Alvarez and McGregor recently participated in a media call yesterday (Thursday November 3, 2016) to promote their upcoming historic main event, to where Alvarez reflected on his long journey in MMA to get to where he is at now in his career, in the main event of possibly the biggest card in UFC history:

“I fought all over the world, I fought the best guys in the world, I never knew personally — fighting was never a job for me, it was always an opportunity. I never really looked at it like a ‘maybe this would work out financially, maybe it wouldn’t.’ I wasn’t sure, but I just knew that I loved what i was doing. For me I made a lot of promises to a lot of people in my career, and just to be able to win a UFC title, get to the pay-per-view (PPV), get to the biggest event in MSG, it’s a dream come true and the time is here. I’m excited about it and I think we have the right guy in front of us to do some big things.”

McGregor is known for his ability to get inside the heads of his opponents with his brash trash talking, leading them to make serious mistakes inside the Octagon that the heavy-handed Irishman is able to capitalize on and use to get the victory.

‘The Underground King,’ however, doesn’t seem to be phased by McGregor’s mental warfare, as he claims that regardless of what McGregor says the featherweight champ and his camp know just exactly what Alvarez is capable of doing to him:

“I think regardless of what is said to the media, I think it is known to him and his camp what I possess and what I can do. I think there is enough said. I don’t need to say much, I just needed him to sign the paper. I wanted him badly to sign the paper, and now I have the deal signed, and the deal is done for me. My preparation is done, my plan is set, and I’m ready to execute on November 12th.”

Alvarez won the UFC lightweight throne by defeating Rafael dos Anjos, one of the most feared 155-pounders on the promotion’s roster today, with a stunning first round knockout in their main event meeting at UFC Fight Night 90 back in July.

The former Bellator lightweight champ feels that since he signed with the UFC he has been competing against a ‘murderers row’ of competitors to welcome him to the promotion, and felt that after winning the title he was due some time off. Alvarez insists that this fight against McGregor counts as his time off, as he expects to make quick work of the featherweight champ when they go head-to-head in New York City:

“I was honest with the media that when I went in the UFC I was put against every single pillar in the division one by one by one by one. I didn’t know why, I thought it was cause I’m coming in as a foreign champion from a foreign promotion. They put me against murderer’s row and I survived, I won the world title. I wasn’t kidding to the media that I thought this style match-up was a good style match-up for me, that I thought it would be a lot easier of a fight than they were feeding me. I was willing to do that, and on top of that it’s going to be financially the best decision. That was killing two birds with one stone, I was getting an easier fight scheduled as well as making more money so it was a no brainer for me on my end.”

After the bout’s announcement Alvarez and McGregor both took part in a UFC 205 press conference in New York that featured the biggest names on the card taking questions from the media. At the conclusion of that press event the two were given the opportunity to square off with one another for the first time since the bout’s announcement.

During the stare-down McGregor stated that he was ‘humored’ by Alvarez’s demeanor, as the 155-pound champ made silly faces at him and took the whole ordeal as a ‘game’. Alvarez stated that McGregor was not wrong in his assessment, claiming McGregor’s track record has yet to prepare him for what is in store for him on November 12th:

“He’s right, I do think it’s a game and I know it’s a game. I think he is right in his assessment. The guys he’s picked to fight, these are sub-par guys. Even Nate is a 500 lightweight, and everybody in the lightweight division has beat Nate and he had trouble doing that. So the guys he’s faced are nothing, nothing to where the fighter I am. He will see the night of the fight, that ‘sh*t I’ve been going up against sh*tty opponents, that were different styles match-ups, and this one is not, and I’m f*cked. He’s stronger, way stronger, just as fast, and he gots skill sets that can dominate me any day of the week.’ That is the reality he’s going to deal with. He’s trying to convince himself that he can do something he knows he can’t, and the night of the fight we’ll see. You ain’t rippin sh*t up.”

While McGregor hopes to defeat Alvarez to become the first dual-weight champion in the UFC’s history, Alvarez’s goal regarding his legacy inside the Octagon is much more simple. Alvarez wishes to go down as the best lightweight in the history of the promotion, and get back to some ‘real sh*t’ by offering the No. 1-contendership to those who deserve the next shot at the gold, not those who simply talk trash with a ‘funny accent’:

“I will go down as the best lightweight in UFC history, that’s what I’ll go down as. It will start with him, but then I’ll make UFC great again, and continue to fight the number one guys who belong here. I sincerely feel and felt I deserved a break, this will be my break and then we’ll get back to some real sh*t, to fight the real number one contenders who fight the best guys and earn their way to the title. Not the guys that have a funny accent and sell tickets.”

Alvarez believes McGregor’s claim to fame stems from his history of hand picking his opponents, claiming that all those the SBG Ireland product has shared the Octagon with thus far are ‘a bunch of chumps’ Due to this Alvarez feels that after he is done with McGregor in their meeting inside the cage, it will be very evident that the Irishman is not as good as he thinks he is :

“He’s fought a bunch of chumps, if I had the resume he had, if they gave me the resume he has, if I was that lucky, the same sh*t would happen if now worst. Styles make match-ups. When you pick the styles you want to fight, then sh*t you can knock everyone out. I can go to the super market right now and punch a guy in the mouth and look like a hero, but when you fight the best guys in the world, the true best guys in the world, it’s gonna be tough. The fights are gonna be tough, sh*ts gonna change. You’re not gonna look as good.”

McGregor’s striking ability has been the downfall of many that have stepped into the Octagon with the 28-year-old champion, something that Alvarez has payed close attention to. While he credits McGregor for his ability on the feet, he proceeded to slam him on his ‘atrocious’ defense and claimed that no matter where the fight finds itself he will be the better combatant:

“I know what I’m capable of. I can get it done in any manner, any manner. If he even begins to think about wrestling, his defense is atrocious. He has good striking, his striking is well, but his defense is terrible. Terrible defense! Might be the worst in the division. So if he even thinks about wrestling, if he even thinks about — even before I start wrestling him. I might just knock him the f*ck out before that. So we don’t know what’s gonna happen, but you know what? You guys are all in for a treat.”

“I’m gonna f*ck you up good, I’m gonna f*ck you up so good (chuckles).”

Alvarez and McGregor will go head-to-head in the main event of UFC 205 for the lightweight title live on pay-per-view (PPV), from the Madison Square Garden arena in New York City on November 12, 2016.

You can listen to the full UFC 205 conference call between Alvarez and McGregor in the video player below: