Conor McGregor gets lightweight title shot, challenges Eddie Alvarez in UFC 205 headliner

One of the most monumental fight cards in UFC history will get a monumental main event. UFC featherweight champ Conor McGregor will attempt to add lightweight gold to his collection when he challenges Eddie Alvarez in UFC 205 headliner, which marks the organization’s return to New York after more than 21 years.

UFC officials tonight confirmed the matchup. Twitter user @TalkMMA was first to report the news.

UFC 205 takes place Nov. 12 at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on FS1 and UFC Fight Pass.

Alvarez (28-4 MMA, 3-1 UFC) vs. McGregor (20-3 MMA, 8-1 UFC) marks the third championship fight slated for the UFC 205 lineup. Welterweight titleholder Tyron Woodley meets Stephen Thompson while strawweight champ Joanna Jedrzejczyk faces fellow Polish-born Karolina Kowalkiewicz.

Immediately after capturing the 155-pound strap with a first-round TKO of Rafael dos Anjos at UFC Fight Night 90 in December, Alvarez set his sights on “The Notorious,” calling him a “gimme fight” after starting his UFC tenure with consecutive matchups against dos Anjos, Anthony Pettis, Gilbert Melendez and Donald Cerrone.

“This guy (dos Anjos) to the right of me, is the best in the division,” Alvarez said at UFC Fight Night 90’s post-fight news conference. “To be able to come out with a win over him and before him was (Anthony) Pettis, before him was Gilbert (Melendez). These are the best guys in the division. I’m not taking on top 15 guys. I would ask Dana White please to give me an easier fight like Conor McGregor. I deserve that. I’ve been fighting the best guys. I would like a gimme fight. So, Conor? I more than welcome that.”

It was unknown if he would get his with, particularly because the promotion recently stated Alvarez would likely put his belt on the line against top contender Khabib Nurmagomedov at December’s UFC 206 event in Toronto. That didn’t happen, however, and Nurmagomedov expressed his frustration (via Twitter).

McGregor, meanwhile, has been targeting the lightweight belt since the moment he picked up the 145-pound strap with a 13-second knockout of Jose Aldo at UFC 194 in December. The brash Irishman was supposed to go for his second UFC belt at UFC 196 in March, but when dos Anjos suffered an injury it opened the door for Nate Diaz to step in and upset McGregor for what is now an infamous rivalry in UFC history.

After the loss at UFC 196, McGregor demanded a rematch with Diaz. Following much drama and uncertainty, the pair finally had a second showdown at UFC 202 in August. It was a grueling five-round battle, but McGregor came out on the winning end of a majority decision to avenge his only octagon loss on a card that reportedly set the UFC pay-per-view record.

Despite going through the traumatizing rematch with Diaz, McGregor will return to competition less than three months later with the opportunity to join B.J. Penn and Randy Couture as the only fighters in UFC history to win belts in multiple weight class. But more importantly, McGregor will get the chance to be the first to hold two titles at the same time.

Alvarez and McGregor will both appear at a special UFC 205 press conference at the Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City on Tuesday at 6 p.m. ET.

The UFC 205 card now includes:

• Champ Eddie Alvarez vs. Conor McGregor – for lightweight title
• Champ Tyron Woodley vs. Stephen Thompson – for welterweight title
• Champ Joanna Jedrzejczyk vs. Karolina Kowalkiewicz
• Yoel Romero vs. Chris Weidman
• Rashad Evans vs. Tim Kennedy
• Raquel Pennington vs. Miesha Tate
• Donald Cerrone vs. Kelvin Gastelum
• Liz Carmouche vs. Katlyn Chookagian
• Thiago Alves vs. Jim Miller
• Frankie Edgar vs. Jeremy Stephens
• Tim Boetsch vs. Rafael Natal
• Lyman Good vs. Belal Muhammad

For more on UFC 205, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.