Alvarez sees McGregor as 'just a guy with a left hand'
Where fans and connoisseurs see a near-infallible knockout artist, Eddie Alvarez sees a glorified sparring partner.
The UFC lightweight champion continued to belittle Conor McGregor's fighting style in a recent appearance on the "MMA Roasted" podcast. Alvarez's criticisms began long before their upcoming meeting at UFC 205 was booked, and continued when the Philadelphia native told those attending the event's presser McGregor had "eight minutes of fight in him," taking aim at his opponent's vaunted boxing.
"To me, he's just a left hand," Alvarez said, according to Fight Sports. "He's just a guy with a left hand. That's how I see him. He does something that we call a 'rock back' well. Mayweather does it. A lot of Philly fighters do it. (McGregor) lives and breathes off it. A lot of MMA guys don't know about these boxing things that they do. This is a move that's very easily taken away and we're going to dominate every step of the way."
Alvarez honed his own boxing chops at the Front Street gym in his hometown, and trains with a reputable boxing coach in New Jersey's Mark Henry. While a number of prognoses have the champ riding his wrestling to victory like he did in consecutive wins over Gilbert Melendez and Anthony Pettis, he's maintained he won't shy away from trading bombs with "The Notorious" come Nov. 12.
"The Underground King" had pushed for a title defense against the winner of McGregor's rematch with Nate Diaz at UFC 202, a request he says the Irishman did not reciprocate.
"I'm the one who made the Conor McGregor fight happen. He never had any intention of fighting me. Every time I said his name I didn't get any response, I didn't get anything. This is a guy who responds and talks shit to everyone, but every time I talked to the media and tried to drum up a fight or anything like that there'd be no response. So it was obvious that he really didn't want this fight. It was only when I won the belt that they decided to get a crack at the belt."
True to Alvarez's claims, McGregor didn't dial up the trash talk until the presser, but likely because he'd been calculating his next move as opposed to ducking the Bellator alum. After tangling with Donald Cerrone, Melendez, and Pettis, the lightweight king usurped Rafael dos Anjos by first-round knockout in July. When detailing his rationale for the ensuing callout, Alvarez simply deemed McGregor an easy task compared to his previous conquests.
"When I joined the UFC I fought the best guys in the division back-to-back-to-back, that was my strategy. I told the media I was tired of getting asked about Conor McGregor, so I told them I could use an easier fight and that's why it happened."
Alvarez will meet McGregor in UFC 205's main event at Madison Square Garden.