Former UFC Champ: McGregor Has A ‘Real Chance’ Of Knocking Out Mayweather

Eddie Alvarez is well aware of not only the striking skills possessed by Conor McGregor, but more specifically, the type of power the Irishman has in his hands. Late last year, Alvarez was picked apart before being brutally knocked out by McGregor at UFC 205, surrendering his lightweight title in the process.

McGregor has not competed since that fight, but he’ll take on legendary former five-division world champion Floyd Mayweather in a boxing match on Aug. 26 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Many have given McGregor a slim chance of beating the 49-0 “Money”, but Alvarez believes there’s a ‘real chance’ McGregor can knock Mayweather out:

“Within [the first] four rounds, if you don’t think Conor can knock this guy out, you’re an idiot or you just don’t know fighting,” Alvarez told ESPN’s Brett Okamoto on the Five Rounds podcast. “It can very well happen. If he doesn’t get it done by then, then it could look very one-sided. The technical boxing of Mayweather is enough to make it look really one-sided.

“But Conor, there is a very real chance that he can put him away.”

As far as his own career goes, Alvarez is set to coach the next season of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) opposite former WSOF (World Series of Fighting) champion Justin Gaethje, who recently stopped Michael Johnson in his UFC debut earlier this month.

Alvarez and Gaethje are expected to clash later this year, and the ex-UFC champ feels as if it’ll be a battle of ‘America’s Most Violent’:

“Everybody could see hints of me in that [Gaethje, Johnson] fight, the way Justin kind of puts it out there,” Alvarez said. “If you get the right guy in front of you, you can make some magic — and he’s one of those guys.

“These are the kind of fights I win every time. So it should be fun to see who is ‘America’s Most Violent.’ It’s a battle of that right there.”

What do you make of Alvarez’s comments regarding Mayweather-McGregor, and how do you expect his fight with Gaethje to play out?