Eddie Alvarez admits he didn’t stick to his gameplan against Conor McGregor during their lightweight title fight, which went down last weekend (Sat., Nov. 12, 2016) at UFC 205 inside Madison Square Garden in New York, New York.
According to the former champion, the plan was to go left and wrestle, but he opted to circle into his left and box against “Notorious.” A “death sentence,” according to Alvarez, who was eventually knocked out by Conor in round number two.
And judging by his corner’s advice, he wasn’t exaggerating when he said he strayed from the plan, as the transcription — courtesy of Pundit Arena via Bloody Elbow — reveals that Alvarez didn’t exactly heed his trainer’s instructions, though it may be difficult to decipher unless you’re privy to the team’s codes.
See for yourself:
PRE-FIGHT
Almeida: He’s going to go right at him. He’s got to be careful.
ROUND 1
Mark Henry: Yeah! 73 on the knee. Yeah! 73 on the knee! 73 on the knee!
Almeida : Move the head. Move the head.
Henry: 73 on the knee! 73 on the knee! 73 on the knee! You’re too much in front. You’re in front too much! Change. Foot. Foot! That’s it. You’re too much in front!!
Almeida: Foot, foot, foot, foot, foot!
Henry: 73!
Almeida: Foot, foot, foot!
Henry: 73. 73. Eddie, 73.
[Alvarez circles right]
Almeida: He’s going the wrong way. The other way!! Foot, foot, foot!
Henry: Eddie, 73!
[Alvarez goes down hard off a McGregor left, but rises astoundingly quickly]
Henry: 73!
[73 repeated multiple times by both corner men]
Henry: Eddie, chain! Chain, Eddie, chain! Chain. Chain
Almeida: Chain, chain, chain, chain! Chin down. Hands up, chin down. That’s not working, he’s got to mack it.
Henry: Stiff! Stiff! Mac!
Almeida: Mack, mack, mack, mack, mack!
Henry: Eddie, mack. Eddie, mack.
Almeida: Mack. Mack!
[Alvarez hits the deck once again]
Almeida: Eddie, put him in the guard, put him in the guard. Use the cage. Use the cage. Get your knees inside, knees inside.
[Alvarez continues to circle to his right]
Almeida: The other way. 73!
Henry: Eddie, 73. 73. 73, now!.
Almeida: He keeps getting countered. Foot, foot, foot!
Henry: Eddie, on the count of two. On the count of two! Eddie, 73 now!
Almeida: 73!
Third voice: He’s not going to do it, you got to call something else.
Almeida: Foot, foot, foot!
Henry: Eddie, 73!
Almeida: Hands up! Follow up with a shot.
Henry: Eddie follow with a blow. Blow, Eddie, blow! 226! Eddie, 226. 226! 73. Eddie, 73!
BETWEEN ROUNDS
Almeida: Take the stool, take the stool. The stool!
Henry: I need you to stutter step before you go. Your speed is the same. Look at me son – I need you to get that shot on his punch. Make him punch and shoot. Be ready to shoot. I want the head outside of his damn right hip and take his butt down. Chain it. If you miss it, chain it. Listen. Look at me. I want you to think you’re gonna miss it. I want you to know you’re gonna miss the first shot. I want the second shot.
Almeida: Your kicks are working good. Listen, you need to mack it. He is throwing his left hand over your hand, you got to mack it.
ROUND 2
Henry: Mack, Eddie, mack! Cam, Eddie, cam!
Almeida: It’s the only way he throws. If he doesn’t throw, he doesn’t counter, Eddie.
Henry: Eddie, 22 low. Low 22, hard! [Repeated by others]…Eddie, 73 kick. Please, Eddie. Chain, Eddie, chain! Chain, Eddie. Chain!
Almeida: 22. 22.
Henry: Eddie, do 26.
Almeida: He’s throwing over.
[McGregor stuffs an Alvarez takedown attempt]
Henry: Again. Eddie, I need a second one. Eddie, chain. I need chains. Eddie, I need chains. Chain, Eddie, chain! And, and, and.
Almeida: Keep throwing that 20, Eddie – the 20.
Henry: Low 22. Low 22. 73! Eddie, [term unclear]
Almeida: Repeats term 3 times. Hands up, hands up, hands up! 22. 22. 22, hard. 22.
Henry: Eddie 73!
Almeida: The cage!
Henry: Eddie, FC 73!
[Eddie forces Conor against the cage]
Almeida: Nice! Lock the hands, lock the hands. Bounce, bounce, bounce!
Henry: Bounce, Eddie, bounce!
Almeida: Head position. Head position! Eddie, we got to bump the head out.
Henry: Bounce, Eddie, bounce!
Almeida: Get the head outside. Head outside!
Third voice: Head position!
Almeida: Eddie work the head outside. Head outside! [McGregor pushes Alvarez off and moves away from the fence] Foot, foot, foot, foot, foot! He just can’t…
Henry: Eddie move your feet!
Almeida: Move your feet, kid, your feet!
Henry: Straight, Eddie, straight.
Almeida: You got to move your feet.
Henry: You got to move your feet, Eddie. Don’t go outside again. Low 73, Eddie, please listen. Low 73.
Those were the final words of advice Mark Henry and Ricardo Almeida relayed to Alvarez before Conor put the finishing touches on his masterful and history-making performance.
Still, you won’t convince Team McGregor that a different approach would’ve made a difference, as they were convinced the matchup was a “massive mismatch” from the get-go, one that favored Conor.
And the proof, as they say, is in the pudding.