Alvarez: ‘You’re a fool if you don’t think Conor can put Floyd away’
Alvarez says not to underestimate McGregor.
I think a lot of boxing fans are looking at Conor as if he’s never, ever boxed. Even the way they’re talking seems that they’re writing him off like he never boxed. He boxed, he understands boxing. I just think his chance is going to happen within the first four rounds. And Conor can. I think you’re a fool if you don’t think Conor can put Floyd away. I think he can. I think he can land a punch and put Floyd away…I think if it goes past the fourth round and gets in the fifth, sixth, seventh where it can become a technical boxing match, I think it could look look one sided. Floyd’s the king of that, he’s the king of swimming and not getting wet. He can punch and not get hit. So I think if it goes further past five, six, seven, eight he could win by TKO. But I think before that time, that’s where Conor’s time is — in the first four rounds.
Alvarez wishes McGregor best of luck as a new father
Alvarez, a father of four, wishes McGregor the best of luck as a new father.
Oh man. Oh man. I got no advice, man. He is doing quite well, man. I think he is going to do a good job. If he puts 10% of the effort into his child as he does fighting, I think he is going to do damn good. So I wish him the best of luck. [Fatherhood] is very terrifying. You are just not sure how you’re going to do. There is no real book for it, you just got to do it and hope that you’re the right person to be a Dad. I’ve been a champion, I’ve been a lot of things, I’ve had no better success…nothing better in my life than being a Dad. That’s my biggest success I’ve had so far.
Kavanagh explains McGregor holding hands behind back
Coach Kavanagh says McGregor was holding his hands behind his back during his UFC 205 fight with Alvarez due to an injury. He says McGregor’s right index knuckle was hurt during his UFC 202 fight with Nate Diaz, and that was his way of protecting it in training, and also has the added advantage of fooling his opponent into trying to hit his head.
He found that if he actually held his right hand behind his back, it kind of reminded him not to throw it as much. That’s why he started reaching back and actually grabbing his hand. It was almost like a mental note: take care of the right hand…If you put your hands down, an untrained person will try to swing at your head. It’s a base instinct — I want to punch the guy in the head. If you have a very high level of striking, boxing like Conor does, you understand rules like that. I don’t think others are kind of catching up to that level of skill.
McGregor ‘controls the fight, hurts people’
Referee McCarthy talks about McGregor’s performance in UFC 205.
Conor McGregor, whether you like him or don’t like him, the man can fight. He is so calm at what he’s doing. He controls the fight. Eddie probably did not fight the right fight for him against someone like Conor. I think he kinda got drawn into the whole thing of ‘I wanna beat you up’. I know what the guy has got. Everyone always wants to sit there and doubt someone [but] Conor McGregor has proved… the guy has got talent and he’s got power. His left hand, he hurts people all the time. They only guy who has stayed up with that left hand – but was multiple times knocked down – was Nate Diaz, and who knocks Nate Diaz out?
Explains thinking during McGregor fight
Alvarez talks in detail about his thought process during his UFC 205 bout with McGregor.
What bugs me about the whole thing is that he didn’t do anything that we didn’t prepare for and I have no one to blame but myself about it and that’s what f-cks me up about it and gets me angry. It would be easier if I could go back to my coach and say ‘You son of a bitch, you messed up and you didn’t tell me this was going to happen’. We literally got ready for all of this and I guess there’s a difference between knowing and doing. We knew but I simply didn’t execute…The whole plan, the plan of this fight, if we had to sum it up. It was go left and mostly wrestle. Not wrestle all the time but put him in wrestling exchanges and put him where he’s uncomfortable. But I don’t know if it was after I got hit that I went into fight-or-flight mode, but I got hit and I went right and I boxed. I did the opposite of my plan…It was the best time I’d ever had on fight week. Honestly, before we went out even my coach Mark Henry, our warmups in the locker room just before we went out to make the walk were probably the best I’ve ever looked. I was confident. When I try to make sense of this whole damn thing, it’s really awkward to sit back and think about. I don’t understand what went on.
McGregor ‘can figure out Mayweather’
Alvarez’s coach says McGregor could beat Mayweather.
You cannot teach somebody how to hit like that. It takes a certain shoulder, it takes a flick of the wrist, it’s all many tiny mechanics, like what it takes to make an eyeball work. It’s the same thing to make the perfect swing. Like Babe Ruth, I just compare Conor to Babe Ruth man, his swing — we watched tape of it — but to be that close to it was a whole other thing. It comes along once in a lifetime, or once every hundred years, and I think God has just blessed him with a swing that, I know I’ll never see again. Before this fight, I would highly doubt him fighting Mayweather, but man I think this dude can figure out Mayweather. I don’t know if it went [long], but I could easily see him knocking anybody man. Like I said, it’s a Babe Ruth swing, there’s so many things you need to make it work. That four punch combination he used to finish off Eddie, he knew where his head was going to be on all four moves, he knows ahead of time where you’re going to be. What he does is just incredible.
https://soundcloud.com/siriusxmrush/mark-henry-conor-mcgregor-is-a-once-in-a-lifetime-fighter-can-defeat-floyd-mayweather
‘I f-cking blew it’
Alvarez releases a statement on Instagram.
The only thing I can honestly say was I f-cking blew it … I did nothing I trained , I did the complete opposite of what we planned on a daily basis for 10 weeks.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BM1eoO5g7Qu/
Responds to Alvarez
Diaz responds in video to Alvarez comment that “everybody in the lightweight division has beat Nate,” reminding him that Diaz has previously defeated cowboy Cerrone and Conor McGregor, two men who in turn beat Alvarez.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BMuKbq6B8DB/
Post-fight interview
Directly after being declared the winner McGregor asks about his belts.
Where the f-ck is my second belt? I’ve already got this one. Where’s the second one at? Cheap motherf-ckers. $4.2 billion this company was sold for. Where’s that second belt. Go backstage and grab that f-cking belt somewhere.
He then talks to Rogan about his win over Alvarez.
They’re not on my level. You’ve got to have size, reach, length. If you come in any way equal to me I’m going to rip your whole head off. Eddie’s a warrior, but he shouldn’t have been in here with me and that’s just the truth of it.
Alvarez coach: McGregor has ‘maybe the best hands I’ve seen in MMA’
Despite McGregor saying “f-ck Mark Henry” at the UFC 205 press conference in September, Alvarez’s coach compliments the Irishman’s abilities.
Nobodies a fool, Conor’s amazing. In my opinion, he’s got some of the best hands. Take away my guys, maybe the best hands I’ve seen in MMA, and you know, I’m going to be partial to my guys. But he has some of the best hands I’ve ever seen. His preciseness, his power, his speed, knowing where the guy’s going to be, he can adjust his punches. He can slide back, he does those slip lefts, he’s got the beautiful right uppercut, slide off uppercuts to the left. Even his wrestling, I’ve seen him do some great defence against [Dennis] Siver, when he peeled out with his legs. I think Conor’s great all around man, he’s impressive. It’s going to be a great fight.
Predicts win in nine minutes
Alvarez predicts a win over McGregor in under nine minutes.
I think we do it under the nine-minute mark. Big, big heavy shots, he goes down and then submission. I can see it ending much like the (Nate) Diaz fight where I land the heavy shot and then I finish with a submission. From what I’ve seen in the past and what he’s done in the past, (his heart) is very questionable and I’m not the only one who’s questioned it…I think he has quit in him and I think it takes a tad of adversity and him to get into a little bit of a fight to pull it out of him. On November 12, I’m going to pull it out of him and I’m going to show it to millions of people and the crowd. Everybody’s going to see it. We’re going to reveal the quit.
Cejudo: ‘McGregor is the best fighter in the world’
Cejudo says McGregor will beat Alvarez.
I like Eddie Alvarez a lot but if he stays on his feet with Conor, I think Conor is going to get him. Conor is a gamer, dude. I will never cross that dude out. I just won’t. His mindset is second to none. He’s special because of his mind and his belief in his ability. I don’t think there had been another athlete like Conor, where he is that confident. Maybe Ali, that’s one of the only [other] one that I can think of, where he’s able to count the round and [land] one-punch knockouts. He’s special, man. For Conor to be able to take the fight to five rounds [against Nate Diaz]… I give my respect to him. I may disagree with the way he flaunts himself and flaunts money and things like that but he’s an entertainer. He’s the best fighter in the world and he’s the best entertainer in the world as well. The more experienced guy is probably Alvarez but I’ve got Conor, man. I like Eddie a lot. He seems like a really good dude and a good fighter – I’ve watched a lot of his fights – but I’ve got a feeling he may get prideful. I hope he doesn’t.
Alvarez training with Bilharinho
Coach Henry tweets an image of Alvarez and Bilharinho, who is well known for having a fighting style similar to McGregor’s.
Awesome work with champ
It’s unclear at this time whether Bilharinho has been a regular part of Alvarez’s preparations for this fight or not. His participation may even have been limited to a single session.
AWESOME workout wit Champ @Ealvarezfight & @JonasSpeed!! @andersonfranca. TEAM @RenzoGracieBJJ @Almeidabjj LETS GO! pic.twitter.com/nI2BJUf4dU
— Mark Henry (@MarkCoachmark13) October 24, 2016
Talks McGregor strategy
Alvarez says he made the McGregor fight happen.
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. 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.
And says he can handle the Irishman’s technique:
To me, he’s just a left hand. 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. He (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. Without giving away a gameplan or anything, everything’s taken away with the proper preparation.
Ridicules McGregor bike training
In response to the picture of McGregor training on a bike…
https://www.instagram.com/p/BL2AgPABkFV/
Alvarez tweets:
improving Cardio Wtf !! haha Are we doing the Tour de France or We fist fighting ? #itsallOver #guysridingbikes No "History just "My"story
— Eddie Alvarez (@Ealvarezfight) October 21, 2016
Says McGregor’s ‘spirit’ is missing
Alvarez says McGregor is missing ‘spirit’.
Stylistically it’s my fight to win. I won’t say it’s easy, especially against a guy who has the crowd like that on his side, but I’m going to get this job done and I’m going to get it done violently and quickly. Technically, I think Conor’s a good fighter,” Alvarez admitted. “He probably does a lot of drills so technically he’s sound, but for me, fighting after a certain point, technique doesn’t matter in a championship fight. It comes down to will, it comes down to spirit and your willingness to win the fight. I think that’s the main ingredient to what makes a champion and I think that’s what he’s missing…I honestly feel that’s what he’s missing. He’s very technical, he’s a clean good fighter for a round, round and a half, but when you get deeper into a fight we’ve all seen him in moments of adversity and it doesn’t look good to me–it doesn’t look like championship caliber.
‘It’s my fight to win’
Alvarez talks about McGregor’s weaknesses.
It’s my fight to win. I won’t say it’s easy, especially against a guy who has the crowd like that on his side, but I’m going to get this job done and I’m going to get it done violently and quickly. Technically, I think Conor’s a good fighter. He probably does a lot of drills so technically he’s sound, but for me, fighting after a certain point, technique doesn’t matter in a championship fight. It comes down to will, it comes down to spirit and your willingness to win the fight. I think that’s the main ingredient to what makes a champion and I think that’s what he’s missing…He’s very technical, he’s a clean good fighter for a round, round and a half, but when you get deeper into a fight we’ve all seen him in moments of adversity and it doesn’t look good to me – it doesn’t look like championship calibre. It doesn’t look like someone who’s willing to take a beating and get on that stool and come back out and give it back to the guy.
Alvarez will be ‘unconscious’
McGregor comments on his upcoming fight with Alvarez.
I don’t think he poses any threat, I don’t believe that. He’s tough, he’s a tough kid…He’s got some good fights under his belt and good experience. So I’m expecting him to come in and fight with his heart. But I don’t see it going well for him. I feel he will be unconscious.
https://twitter.com/GrabakaHitman/status/787027975099314180
Claims he will fight Alvarez for title after McGregor defeat
Johnson says that if he beats Nurmagomedov — despite the Russian being the favorite — on November the 12th at Madison Square Garden will out him in line for a shot at the 155 lbs crown, but only if McGregor loses to Alvarez.
I know I can’t make any mistakes against Khabib. I know I’m going to have to be damn near flawless to beat a guy of his stature. That’s what I’m going in there to do on November 12. He’s relentless with his takedowns. He lives and dies off them and he will just go for them. I think that’s one thing I’m going to have to face that I’ve never faced before in any of my opponents. His wrestling is like my striking–it’s what he lives and dies off of. He’s relentless in it and I’m relentless in my striking and we are going to have two of the best styles going up against each other. I think a win will put me in the number one contender spot…If Conor wins then I’m pretty sure Conor and Nate will fight for their trilogy for that title. That will be the fight to make if he wins. That said, I don’t think he is going to win so who knows where that puts me. Hopefully, it puts me in line for a title shot if Eddie gets the win.
‘People are f–king sleeping on Alvarez’
Rogan and Schaub say that Alvarez is being underrated. Rogan:
I think people are f-cking sleeping on Eddie Alvarez. I think he’s a dangerous, dangerous 155 lber. That motherf—er can punch. He punches hard, he’s fast as f–k and there’s not a human alive that’s more game than that kid. Conor is a God damn phenom. He’s got as Firas Zahabi likes to call it, ‘The touch of death,’ in his hands.”
Schaub:
It’s a scary fight man. Anyone who thinks it’s an easy fight or not a big fight for Conor, they just don’t know the sport. I’m talking about the underground king. I think at 55, and everyone knows I’m the biggest Conor nut-rider in the world, at 55, I just don’t see a ton of success there. I think Eddie Alvarez, If you look at the top five, it’s his easiest match-up and that’s a f-cking nightmare for him. Because Eddie can grapple his ass off, he’s been in so many big fights, he doesn’t get tired, he doesn’t mind winning by the decision either…Well think about it. How does Conor win this fight? He has to knock him out. He has five rounds to knock him out. You’re not winning a decision against Eddie. The grappling, the takedowns, the endurance, with the striking. As the rounds go on the knockout power goes down.