McGregor promises to retire Alvarez: I'll 'rearrange his facial structure'

"Mystic Mac" was in rare form on Thursday.

Conor McGregor hijacked the UFC 205 conference call, and predictably gave his thoughts on his upcoming lightweight title bout with reigning champion Eddie Alvarez, scheduled to headline the event. Alvarez repeatedly belittled the Irishman's merit as an opponent, prompting McGregor to rattle off an ominous rant to close out the proceedings.

"Anyone that fights me, it's over for them. It's gonna be the exact same for you," McGregor said. "You're never, ever, ever gonna be the same ever again in your life. Your kids are gonna beg you, 'Daddy, please don't go again.'

"I will go out there and I will punish him for those words that he was saying. I'm going to retire him on this night."

Before the tirade, the Irishman offered some insight as to how he thought next Saturday's fight will unfold. McGregor respected the seasoned Alvarez's toughness, but predicted his vaunted striking arsenal would be enough to put the lightweight champ away within a round.

"As far as the prediction, I believe first round. I know he's durable, I don't believe he's been hit by anybody like me. I don't believe he will survive. If he does survive, and be in that survival mode, then I'm gonna toy with him. I'm gonna rearrange his face for his words that he's speaking right now, but I still can't see him lasting one round.

"He's been through a hell of a lot of wars. He's been dropped continuously. I can see it in him. You can see the effects of war on his face."

Alvarez found McGregor's purported clairvoyance laughable, and while he wisely refrained from matching the featherweight king quip for quip, his sporadic rebuttals were enough for his rival to promise he would emerge from the Octagon a shell of his soon-to-be-former self.

"I'm really, truly gonna rearrange his facial structure. His wife and kids won't ever recognize him again," McGregor said. "His friends and the people that he knows, will know that he's not the same man after this contest. So he's gonna be in a shock when he sees that."

The pair will settle their differences on Nov. 12 at Madison Square Garden.