Let it not be said that Eddie Alvarez is anything other than a difficult test for Conor McGregor, but the current UFC lightweight champion's comments on his upcoming opponent, if he truly means them, suggest that he has not learned anything from McGregor's opponents over the last three years or so.
According to FightSports.tv, Alvarez believes McGregor is 'just a left hand' that he expects to dominate from the word go.
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 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. I'm confident in my coaches, I'm confident in our gameplan and our ability to go out there and do it. We're just following this gameplan step-by-step.
Doesn't that sound a lot like Dustin Poirier? Or Chad Mendes? Or even Jose Aldo?
Conor McGregor's left hand is a very real threat to anyone who steps into the octagon with him, but focusing solely on that and expecting to be able to pressure him, taking into account Alvarez's tendency to brawl in the striking exchanges, is a recipe for disaster.
This could simply be lip service from Eddie, but if he doesn't respect Conor McGregor's power and is counting on being able to take that left hand and walk through it, then that is a big mistake. Ask the long line of opponents who thought the same thing.
Just as it is easy to see a scenario where McGregor gets the stoppage that he has been predicting to the media, it is absolutely possible to see a situation where Eddie Alvarez gets his opponent up against the cage, lands a takedown, and grinds the Irishman down for a victory either by decision or stoppage.
But doing so would involve respecting Conor's game as Nate Diaz did. The only man to defeat McGregor in the UFC was fully aware of the dangers he possessed, and certainly didn't expect to be dominant from the off.
We'll have to wait until November 12th to see whether or not he means what he is saying, but Conor McGregor will be perfectly happy if those sentiments are repeated when the two will share a media conference call on Thursday night.
[via FightSports.tv]
