ALVAREZ READY TO SOLIDIFY HIS LEGACY
UFC Lightweight Champion Eddie Alvarez said during the UFC 205 media conference call this week he plans to not only beat Conor McGregor at UFC 205, but build a record as the greatest ever in his division. “I want to go down as the best lightweight in UFC history and that’s what I’ll go down as,” Alvarez said. “I’ll start with him (McGregor), but then I’ll make UFC great again and continue to fight the number one guys who belong here.”
The fight, now just over a week from now, will be the most high-profile fight of Alvarez’s career when he battles the reigning Featherweight Champion Conor McGregor at Madison Square Garden when the UFC debuts in New York. He says he intends to make the most of this opportunity.
He predicts that beating McGregor will be easy relative to the competition he has faced earlier in the UFC and why the decision to take the fight was easy. “I wasn’t kidding to the media that I thought this style matchup was a good style matchup for me,” he said. “I thought it was easier than what they were feeding me, and I thought financially it would be the best decision. I was killing two birds with one stone.”
He also shrugged off McGregor’s claim that he’d finish Alvarez in the first round. “I know what I’m capable of, and I can get it done in any manner,” Alvarez said. “We don’t know what’s going to happen, but you guys are all in for a treat.”
The Alvarez-McGregor fight will be just the third-ever champion vs. champion bout in UFC history.
Cervantes Analysis: Alvarez certainly has the style to give McGregor problems because of his lethal combination of speed and power. He has a very aggressive in-your-face style that has allowed him to finish so many other elite fighters and is the reason he defeated Dos Anjos for the title. He’ll have to rattle McGregor quick and early so he controls the fight from the outset, and then from there he’ll likely have the superior cardio should the fight last into the later rounds. I think Alvarez will ultimately pull this out, although I expect a very competitive and fun fight next week and can’t wait to see it.
FRIDAY NOTEBOOK ITEMS…
-Tony Ferguson told MMAJunkie that he “sees quit” in opponent Rafael Dos Anjos.
-Paul Daley is out of Bellator 163 tonight after “a difficult” weight cut, according to Bloody Elbow.
-UFC released a statement that light heavyweight veteran Tom Lawlor was flagged for a potential anti-doping violation from an out-of-competition sample.
-Chael Sonnen criticized the UFC on his podcast for not allowing McGregor to hold dual titles should he win next week.
NOW CHECK OUT YESTERDAY’S UPDATE: THURSDAY NEWS DIGEST 11/3: Bisping suddenly cannot fight Souza or anyone on short notice (w/Hiscoe’s Analysis)
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