Here it is! It’s happening. Finally! Conor McGregor, the featherweight champion is now scheduled to fight at 155 pounds against his rival, Eddie Alvarez… For the Lightweight title… And it’s on the most stacked pay-per-view (PPV) card of the year, UFC 205, which takes place inside Madison Square Garden in New York, N.Y., on Nov. 12, 2016.
And McGregor — who has yet to defend his 145-pound title — is keeping his belt, too, per Dave Sholler, making this the first bonafide superfight since B.J. Penn challenged Georges St-Pierre. It’s surprising news to say the least, considering White was adamant that “Notorious” would fight Jose Aldo next after his two matches against Nate Diaz at Welterweight. In fact, just last week, White doused rumors that Alvarez would fight McGregor, stating that Khabib Nurmagomedov would finally compete for the Lightweight title.
It seems as though McGregor — who is apparently not injured — and his drawing power were just too much to pass up. Indeed, McGregor is at the height of his fame, coming off a “Fight of the Year” grudge match that sold 1.65 million buys. Moreover, it has the novelty value of being the first UFC show at Madison Square Garden — they are bringing the show. Expect more details later today at 6 p.m. ET when the promotion kicks off its UFC 205 promotion with a live press conference.
Event: UFC 205: “McGregor vs. Alvarez”
Date: Sat., Nov. 12, 2016
Location: Madison Square Garden in New York, New York
Broadcast: Pay-Per-View (PPV)
UFC 205 PPV Main Event:
155 lbs.: Lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez vs. Featherweight champion Conor McGregor (for 155-pound title only)
UFC 205 PPV Co-Main Event:
170 lbs.: Welterweight champion Tyron Woodley vs. Stephen Thompson
Other Scheduled UFC 205 Matches:
115 lbs.: Strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk vs. Karolina Kowalkiewicz
185 lbs.: Yoel Romero vs. Chris Weidman
185 lbs.: Rashad Evans vs. Tim Kennedy
135 lbs.: Raquel Pennington vs. Miesha Tate
145 lbs.: Frankie Edgar vs. Jeremy Stephens
170 lbs.: Donald Cerrone vs. Kelvin Gastelum
135 lbs.: Liz Carmouche vs. Katlyn Chookagian
155 lbs.: Thiago Alves vs. Jim Miller
185 lbs.: Tim Boetsch vs. Rafael Natal
170 lbs.: Lyman Good vs. Belal Muhammad