Eddie Alvarez: “I’m the one who made the Conor McGregor fight happen”

At UFC 205 on November 12th, UFC featherweight champion Conor McGregor and UFC lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez will step into the Octagon in what will be just the second champion vs. champion fight in the history of the UFC. In addition to headlining a historic card, the fight will give McGregor the opportunity to make UFC history as the first man to hold two UFC championship belts simultaneously.

With that being said, UFC President Dana White has remained adamant that McGregor will indeed be forced to vacate one of the championships if he emerges from the historic scrap victorious. While McGregor was initially very reluctant to give up one of the belts, stating that the UFC brass would need an army to take one of them from him, he has since softened his stance, stating that before there are talks of him vacating a belt, he wants the world to see the historic photos of him victorious at UFC 205 with two title belts.

The fight wasn’t made without some controversy however. While White initially stated that it was Khabib Nurmagomedov, not Conor McGregor, who would fight Alvarez, things quickly changed as it was announced that Alvarez and McGregor would be headlining the event, while Nurmagomedov would be fighting Michael Johnson on the card.

Now, Alvarez is taking credit for making the fight happen. He spoke during an interview on MMA Roasted:

“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.”

Only time will tell which man will emerge from The Empire State victorious.