Eddie Alvarez vs. Conor McGregor could be just around the corner.
Alvarez has been handed the next lightweight title shot against Rafael dos Anjos, McGregor’s original opponent for UFC 196.
Alvarez meets dos Anjos on July 7, just two days before McGregor gets his rematch against Nate Diaz, who handed the Irishman his first defeat in the UFC via second round submission.
McGregor admitted after the fight that he was inefficient with his energy on March 5 and that he somewhat gassed after winning the first round. And Alvarez believes the defeat proves that McGregor cannot fight at his pace for longer than two rounds.
“To be honest, Conor’s a one or two round fighter,” Alvarez said on The MMA Hour. “He’s not a championship fighter.
“He’s a one or two round guy. He’ll be a lifer, I think, in three rounders.
“If he ever decides to do five rounders or go past the five, I think most of his fights are going to look just like that (the Diaz fight), he’s going to take a dump.”
‘The Notorious’ has only been the distance once in his professional career, with a unanimous decision coming against Max Holloway in 2013.
In fact, the Holloway fight was the only one in McGregor’s career that made it to the third round, largely due to the Dubliner’s proclivity for getting his work done early in the cage.
But Alvarez believes McGregor cannot continue to fight into the latter rounds with his style, predicting the rematch with Diaz will end in just the same way as their original meeting.
“Conor couldn’t even win for two rounds,” Alvarez continued. “If he has to deal with any amount of adversity, how’s he going to end up winning.
“He was beating the shit out of Nate. If you can’t win for two rounds, how are you going to be in a fight with Nate Diaz?
“He (McGregor) was winning, he was beating the shit out of him and he couldn’t keep up with his own winning. That was odd to me.”
