Eddie Alvarez is out to prove his unexpected ascension is more than just a flash in the pan at UFC 205.
"The Underground King" capped consecutive victories over Gilbert Melendez and Anthony Pettis with a first-round dusting of Rafael dos Anjos to win the lightweight strap in July. While casual fans may have already written him off as a one-and-done champ ahead of his upcoming title defense against Conor McGregor, Alvarez will exit Madison Square Garden with the belt in tow, "The Notorious" with a shattered ego.
Here are three reasons why:
#NeverFightsWrestlers
Call him biased, but Mark Henry's indictment of McGregor's rap sheet has legs.
Most of the Irishman's victims have obliged his preference to keep the fight standing, save bitter rival Nate Diaz and Chad Mendes, who briefly exploited his grappling deficiencies before succumbing to a second-round TKO at UFC 189. While Alvarez suspects McGregor's potency on the feet is limited to his left hand, it behooves the lightweight champ to follow Mendes' blueprint should the Irishman prove him wrong.
Look for "The Underground King" to put McGregor on his back or wear him down against the cage - as he did against two similarly dangerous strikers in Melendez and Pettis - if things get hairy on the feet. The tactic may not produce the expected fireworks, but it'll keep the belt around Alvarez's waist.
"It's a looong 25 minutes in there"
McGregor might have confidently uttered these words, but he'll be eating them on fight night.
The featherweight king's pair of fights with Diaz betrayed lackluster conditioning, which has since prompted Alvarez to claim McGregor has no more than "eight minutes of fight in him." The 32-year-old will heed his own words and take the bout into the "championship rounds," leaving a waning McGregor ripe for a finish. Alvarez will then give viewers flashbacks of his beatdown of Dos Anjos and get to swinging until the referee mercifully intervenes.
Sticks and Stones
Alvarez has refrained from obliging McGregor with a war of words as of late, meaning he'll be of sound mind and unimpeded judgment come fight night.
"The Notorious" promised to rearrange Alvarez's facial structure - among other threats - in last week's conference call, but the unfazed lightweight champion wouldn't do him the pleasure of succumbing to the psychological warfare. The Philadelphia native appears equally unmoved by both the high stakes and the Madison Square Garden stage, so expect the champ to deliver a career-defining performance on Saturday.
Related - Gold rush: 3 reasons Conor McGregor will beat Eddie Alvarez
