Gold rush: 3 reasons Conor McGregor will beat Eddie Alvarez

History will be made Saturday if Conor McGregor can defeat Eddie Alvarez to become the first man to simultaneously hold two UFC world titles.

The current owner of a featherweight belt, McGregor challenges 155-pound champ Eddie Alvarez in the main event of Saturday's UFC 205 in New York City and he's a slight favorite going in despite competing as a lightweight in the Octagon for the first time.

Here are three reasons why McGregor is a safe bet:

Down goes Alvarez

As great as Alvarez is, he has a weakness: He can be hit. And if McGregor catches him with a clean shot, there's no guarantee Alvarez stays on his feet.

Alvarez has been in some incredibly violent wars in his career, which is both a testament to his sturdiness and an indictment of his style. Here's a clip of his classic 2011 encounter with Michael Chandler in which he came precariously close to being finished in the first round:

There isn't much more that needs to be said about McGregor's dynamite left hand, which has helped him to six knockout wins in his nine UFC appearances. When he connects with Alvarez's chin, it will be lights out for "The Underground King."

Going the distance

McGregor proved a lot of his doubters wrong in his rematch with Nate Diaz at UFC 202 when he gutted out a five-round majority decision victory. He started off strong, stumbled badly in Round 3, and somehow found his second wind in the closing rounds to win on points.

That performance dispelled the myth that McGregor doesn't have the cardio to compete at a high level for 25 minutes. He'll need every ounce of that steely determination in the championship rounds if he fails to put Alvarez away early.

Just call him 'Conor Gracie'

The most criticized aspect of McGregor's skill set has to be his ground game. He's certainly benefited from rarely being matched up with opponents who could exploit his relatively limited jiu-jitsu experience, but the deficiency is overstated.

In his infamous submission loss to Diaz at UFC 196, McGregor was badly hurt on the feet before an ill-advised takedown attempt gave the lethal Diaz the opening he needed to choke McGregor out. What is forgotten about that meeting is McGregor escaping a Diaz takedown in the first round with a slick sweep to gain top control.

McGregor's submission defense was also on display when he defeated Chad Mendes. Mendes' wrestling gave McGregor plenty of problems, but the Irishman was able to survive his opponent's guillotine choke attempts and eventually get the fight back to the feet where he finished Mendes with strikes.

Add in the fact that McGregor reacted to the Diaz loss by adding BJJ star Dillon Danis to his training camp and it's not inconceivable McGregor will hold his own with Alvarez should the fight go to the mats.

Related - Down With the King: 3 reasons Eddie Alvarez will beat Conor McGregor