The UFC 205 press conference at Madison Square Garden had a ton of UFC talent attending, but you may as well have just called it the Conor McGregor Show, because that’s basically what we just watched for the last 45 minutes. The cocky Irish fighter was added to the card late last night, but that didn’t stop him from sucking up all the oxygen.
As far as all of the confusion surrounding the would he / wouldn’t he nature of the fight, McGregor claimed he had no part in any of it. Instead he blamed his opponent, lightweight champ Eddie Alvarez, for holding up negotiations.
“I had a bruised foot,” he said I agreed to this fight 10 days ago, 10 days ago I agreed to all this. Then, I dunno what was going on. Something went on with that other side. But I was chillin’ here waiting for the call and then the call came last minute so here we are. I’m brand new.”
“I just said it out straight, beg me,” he finished. “And they begged me. So that was all I wanted. That was all I asked.”
He also offered up one of his famous Mystic Mac predictions.
“He’s chinny. He has a chin. He gets cracked, he gets dropped, it’s happened throughout his career. He’s a weathered fighter. He’s on his way out. He’s very very lucky to be in the position he’s in. One round it will take me to knock him out.”
Eddie Alvarez didn’t seem impressed with McGregor’s antics and offered a disparaging opinion of the Irishman.
“This guy got 8 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. … When I say bad fighter, I’m talking about how you deal with adversity. How you deal with being in a bad situation. He deals terribly with being in bad situations and he don’t come back.”
“I’ve been whuppin’ his style, that style for a long time,” McGregor retorted. “He’s a stocky, stuffed wrestler with an overhand, that’s it. So I’ve been beating these guys up long before. His UFC career has been horrendous. He’s very very lucky to be in the position that he’s in, he understands that. That’s why he took this fight on the money he was on the last fight. I mean, that says it all.”
Eddie and Conor ended up going back and forth several times, talking over each other and trash talking.
“Just another broke bum trying to sell some shit,” McGregor said with a laugh. “That’s it. He’s broke and he’s desperate. And he’s trying to make it like ‘McGregor’s this, McGregor’s that!’ We’ve heard it all before. He’s just another broke bum that can’t afford to pay his bills.”
He’s gonna be shooting for his life, but it’s a long 25 minutes in there,” he finished. “I can hit you from everywhere. And that’s what’s gonna happen to him. He’s gonna be shooting in panic and I’m gonna be hitting him from everywhere. Sooner or later he’s gonna fall. One of those elbows, one of those shots is gonna dig into that soft sweet spot, into that temple, and that’s all she wrote. Two weight world champion. UFC history. New York. The Irish are back!