IT’S the fight that seemingly everyone in MMA wants to see and, according to UFC co-commentator Joe Rogan, we may well get to see it.
The clash between UFC lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez and featherweight champ Conor McGregor has been on everyone’s lips since the Irish superstar defeated Nate Diaz in their rematch at UFC 202.
And Rogan dropped the biggest hint yet that the fight is all set to take place on the historic debut event at New York’s Madison Square Garden on November 12.
“I know a little something that I wish I could tell,” teased Rogan on his hugely popular podcast, The Joe Rogan Experience.
“It’s an interesting fight, if it happens – allegedly at Madison Square Garden,.allegedly in a couple of months. Maybe it’s going to happen, I don’t know.
“But if it does happen, Eddie is a big boy. He can grapple.
“He’s a f*****g grinder and whatever endurance issues Conor may have, he better iron those f*****s out before you go to town with that guy.”
Alvarez called for the McGregor fight immediately after he stopped Rafael dos Anjos by first-round TKO to claim the belt at UFC Fight Night in Las Vegas in July.
Speaking to the media at the post-fight press conference, he said: “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.”
And if the fight does take place, Rogan says the Irish superstar will have his hands full once again against former Bellator world champion Alvarez, who looked in incredible form against dos Anjos as he captured the title.
“I don’t think it’s an easy one at all,” Rogan explained.
“I don’t think Eddie’s the best match up at all.
“First of all Eddie’s known for having a chin and known for being able to bounce back from getting hurt — he’s got massive heart.
“And he fights at his best when the chips are on the line — like in the dos Anjos fight.”
And while some, including UFC president Dana White, have called for McGregor to return to featherweight and make the first defence of his world title, against old foe and current interim champ Jose Aldo, Rogan doesn’t see that happening.
“I kind of want to see him rematch Aldo though.”
While Rogan seems set on the likelihood of Alvarez v McGregor at UFC 205, one man says that won’t be happening – UFC president White.
When asked by a fan on Twitter if he could confirm or deny the Alvarez v McGregor bout, White’s response threw another name into the mix.
Rather than matching McGregor with Alvarez, he says top lightweight contender, Russian powerhouse Khabib Nurmagomedov will get the next shot at Alvarez’s title.
If this proves to be true, what this means for McGregor is anyone’s guess.
Will he be told to drop down to featherweight to face Aldo, or could there be a superfight with someone like Georges St-Pierre in the works?
Watch this space.
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