‘His wife and kids won’t ever recognise him again’: Conor McGregor issues grim warning to Eddie Alvarez ahead of UFC 205
Irish UFC superstar engaged in some heavy-duty verbal warfare with UFC lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez during the UFC 205 media conference call
ramped up the tension ahead of his champion versus champion bout with at , stating: “His wife and kids won’t ever recognise him again”.
The duo engaged in a predictably lively media conference call on Thursday night to help promote their titanic title fight at Madison Square Garden on November 12.
Not that it needs much hyping. The event has reportedly already smashed the Madison Square Garden gate record and looks set to become the biggest pay-per-view event in UFC history.
McGregor is the UFC’s biggest star and the promotion’s biggest earner, having banked a disclosed $3million from his last fight against Nate Diaz at . And that’s before his pay-per-view percentage and any additional bonuses and endorsements.
Now he’s gunning for glory at the Mecca of combat sports, where he’s bidding to become the first athlete to hold world championships in two UFC weight classes at the same time.
Standing in his way is teak-tough Philadelphia fighter Alvarez, who captured the UFC lightweight title with a devastating TKO stoppage of Rafael dos Anjos at UFC Fight Night Las Vegas in July.
Speaking on the call, McGregor said he respected Alvarez’s toughness, but said his opponent's battle-laden career will come back to haunt him in New York.
"He has been through a hell of a lot of wars," he said.
"He has been dropped continuously. I can see it in him. You can see the effects of war on his face.
"Respect to him, he’s a fighter. Nothing but respect."
Then addressing Alvarez directly, McGregor got personal.
"But this will be it for you,” he declared.
"You’re going to be badly, badly hurt Eddie, and I mean that.
"It’s over for you. You will not fight again after this. You will not look the same, you will not think the same, and that’s it."
Alvarez was having none of it, however, laughing off McGregor’s claims, saying the Dubliner has made it to the top beating a succession of hand-picked opponents and that he is in for a rude awakening on fight night.
"The guys he’s picked to fight, these are sub-par guys," Alvarez said.
"Everybody in the lightweight division has beat Nate (Diaz), and he had trouble doing that.
"The guys he’s faced are nothing of the calibre I am. He will see the night of the fight."
But McGregor remained steadfast throughout the call, raising the stakes further by issuing Alvarez with a grim warning.
"I’m going to toy with this man," McGregor said.
"I’m going to really, truly rearrange his facial structure. His wife and kids won’t ever recognise him again.
"His friends and the people that he knows will know that he’s not the same man after this contest. He’s going to be in shock when he sees that. They’re about to see your final hurrah.”
The Dubliner already holds the UFC featherweight title, and says he’ll tear the lightweight title from Alvarez’s grasp with a comprehensive demolition job on the champion.
"I paint many pictures. I can fight in many different ways, and I will,” McGregor explained.
"I’m going to paint many different pictures in this contest and put on a showcase, toy with this man and end it all. End his whole career. Retire him.
"It’s over for him. He should be done anyway. He’s taken too much damage.
"This will be his last amount of damage that he will be able to take."
