Eddie Alvarez says McGregor 'not getting the big boy belt' at UFC 205: 'There is no Santa Claus'

Eddie Alvarez isn’t backing down to Conor McGregor ahead of their champion vs. champion main event on the historic UFC 205 fight card later this year.

Earlier this week, Alvarez (28-4 MMA, 3-1 UFC) and McGregor (20-3 MMA, 8-1 UFC) came face-to-face for the first time ahead of their lightweight title clash on Nov. 12 at UFC 205, which marks the organization’s first event in New York City.

The pay-per-view headliner at Madison Square Garden marks just the second time in UFC history two active champions will collide inside the octagon, and featherweight titleholder McGregor has the chance to place himself in the record books by becoming the first to hold two UFC belts simultaneously.

Alvarez, No. 1 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA lightweight rankings is the one standing in the way of that monumental achievement, though, and he has no intention of allowing No. 1-ranked featherweight McGregor to take the gold away from him. He made that much clear at Tuesday’s UFC 205 news conference.

“This guy’s got eight minutes of fight in him, that’s it,” Alvarez said. “He quits after eight minutes every fight. He’s not a championship fighter, he’s never been. And he’s never, ever fought anyone in the UFC like me. Ever.”

Alvarez said he’s not trying to put down the entirety of McGregor’s skill set, and how could he when the brash Irishman has six knockouts in eight UFC wins, including a title-fight record 13-second finish of Jose Aldo at UFC 194? However, the fact remains there are different levels to the sport, and Alvarez said McGregor isn’t prepared for the level of danger he’s going to put him in at UFC 205.

“When I mention fighter you guys are thinking about technique; I’m not thinking about technique,” Alvarez said. “When I mention fighter, I’m talking about how you deal with adversity, how you deal with bad situations. He deals terribly with bad situations and doesn’t come back.”

Although Alvarez doesn’t think highly of his next opponent, McGregor appears to feel the same way. He called Alvarez “blessed” to be in his current position and predicted a first-round knockout for the matchup. Alvarez firmly denied that prediction as a realistic outcome, then made a prediction of his own of what he thinks McGregor’s career will look like in the aftermath of their bout.

“You ain’t got a shot,” Alvarez said. “You’ll be belt-less Nov. 12. You’ll be belt-less. Not at 145, not at 155. You’ll have to give up the little boy belt and you’re not getting the big boy belt.”

Outside of a pair of welterweight fights with Nate Diaz in which each side earned a win, McGregor has been dominant and rarely challenged inside UFC competition. Alvarez, on the other hand, has been forced to endure hardship in all his octagon appearances with the exception of his title-wining TKO of Rafael dos Anjos at UFC Fight Night 90 in July.

Alvarez expects UFC 205 to be the smoothest of all his UFC fights, though, and he went as far as to call McGregor “easy money.” He appears to truly believe that statement, as well, and said the rest of the world will believe it after UFC 205, too.

“Come Nov. 12, you guys will see,” Alvarez said. “There is no Santa Claus.”

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