Less than an hour after the biggest win of his amazing career, a first-round victory over Rafael Dos Anjos, newly minted UFC lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez was already back to work. Not fighting, mind you, but promoting.
Speaking to the assembled media at the UFC Fight Night 90 post-fight press conference Thursday night (warning: NSFW language), Alvarez set the stage for a superfight opposite UFC featherweight champion Conor McGregor.
Said Alvarez (via LowKickMMA.com‘s Mike Drahota):
So, [Dos Anjos] is the best in the division, so to be able to come out with a win over him, and before him was [Anthony] Pettis, and before him was Gilbert [Melendez], these are the best guys in the division. I’m not taking on Top 15, so I would ask Dana White to give me an easier fight like Conor McGregor. I deserve that, I’ve been fighting the best guys, so I would like a gimme fight, so Conor, I more than welcome that.
It’s an absolutely brilliant move on Alvarez’s part.
While it’s easy to forget, McGregor was lined up for a historic fight with Dos Anjos for the lightweight title at UFC 196. The fight wound up getting scrapped due to an injury suffered by Dos Anjos, who was then replaced with Nate Diaz. Diaz, of course, posted an amazing upset win over McGregor via submission, and the two are booked for a rematch at UFC 202 in August.
While McGregor is widely expected to return to 145 pounds after UFC 202 (where he will face Diaz at 170 pounds), there is a real chance he takes a layover fight at 155 pounds in between. If McGregor can beat Diaz in the rematch, remaking that fight makes sense from both an entertainment and business perspective.
If the fight gets booked, Alvarez promises to make quick work of McGregor.
“There’s a lot of guys in the UFC who are good at one thing and they get matched up stylistically well… He’s one of ’em,” he said. “So I think he could get found out, if he was ever to fight Rafael Dos Anjos or myself, he would get found out very quickly.”
Needless to say, this may take a while to develop, if it is indeed something the UFC is interested in. UFC 202 is scheduled for August 20, and there is a chance that Alvarez could receive a lengthy medical suspension, even in victory. Still, this is a rivalry to get excited for.
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