Eddie Alvarez ready for UFC 205 despite fighting on ‘McGregor Show’

UFC lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez, left, and featherweight champion Connor McGregor, right, pose for photos with UFC president Dana White during a press conference for UFC 205, Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2016, in New York. (Julie Jacobson/AP)

UFC lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez, left, and featherweight champion Connor McGregor, right, pose for photos during a new conference for UFC 205, Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2016, in New York. (Julie Jacobson/AP)

UFC lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez speaks during a news conference for UFC 205, Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2016, in New York. Alvarez is scheduled to face featherweight champion Connor McGregor to defend his lightweight belt on Nov. 12 in what will be the first UFC card to be held in New York after the state legislature legalized the sport earlier this year. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)

UFC lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez has fought all types of opponents around the world, but he acknowledges he’s never experienced anything like this.

Alvarez will put his title on the line in the main event of the organization’s first show in New York’s Madison Square Garden on Saturday when he fights featherweight champ Conor McGregor.

The event is expected to break the record for a live gate at the famed venue, set in 1999 in a heavyweight boxing match between Lennox Lewis and Evander Holyfield at $13.5 million.

The bout is part of a pay-per-view event that includes a welterweight title bout between Stephen Thompson and champion Tyron Woodley, and a women’s strawweight bout between Karolina Kowalkiewicz and champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk.

Alvarez, who spent most of his career winning titles in various organizations around the world before signing with the UFC in 2014, is expected to make by far the biggest payday of his career.

“I’ve fought all over the world, and I’ve fought the best guys in the world,” Alvarez said on a conference call. “I never knew personally if fighting would work out for me, so it was never like a job for me. It was always an opportunity. I wasn’t ever sure if it would work out financially, but I knew I just loved what I was doing.

“It’s a dream come true, and the time is here, and I’m excited about it. I think we have the right guy in front of us to do some big things.”

The right guy is McGregor. While Alvarez will be defending his belt in the historic show, he’s certainly not the headliner.

“Eddie is tough. He’s durable. I’ll give him that,” McGregor said. “He’s been through war after war. His chin is banged up. I don’t believe he will be able to withstand the barrage of strikes. If he can last, I’ll give him respect.

“But this is the McGregor show.”

Alvarez is just fine with that. The 32-year-old Philadelphia native said while he is comfortable with the added attention he has received since he won the title with a first-round knockout of Rafael dos Anjos in July, which has only intensified since this fight was announced, he’s content to let McGregor’s trash talk and witty one-liners sell the fight and make him rich.

“Regardless of what’s said to the media, I think it’s known to him and his camp what I possess and what I can do,” Alvarez said. “And I think there’s enough said. I don’t need to say much. I just needed him to sign the paper. I wanted him badly to sign the paper. And now I have the paper signed and the deal is done for me. My preparation is done. My plan is set, and I’m ready to execute on (Saturday).”

Alvarez has survived a tough stretch of opponents since signing with the UFC, so much that he suggested UFC officials were testing him for being an outsider for so long.

After losing his UFC debut to Donald “Cowboy’ Cerrone, Alvarez reeled off wins over former Strikeforce champ Gilbert Melendez and former UFC champ Anthony Pettis before taking the title from dos Anjos.

Now he gets his true reward.

“I wasn’t kidding (when I told) the media that I thought that this style matchup was a good style matchup for me and that I thought it’d be a lot easier fight than what they’ve been feeding me,” Alvarez said of fighting McGregor. “So I was willing to do that, and on top of it, it happened to be financially the best decision. So it was killing two birds with one stone. I was getting an easier fight schedule as well as making more money.

“It was a no-brainer for me on my end.”

Alvarez believes while he has been tested every step of the way, McGregor has been able to pick and choose his opponents. The charge truly stems from Alvarez’s frustration that McGregor avoided his teammate Frankie Edgar in the featherweight division.

In Alvarez’s mind, McGregor is a steppingstone to his ultimate goals that so happens to come with a big paycheck.

“I will go down as the best lightweight in UFC history,” Alvarez said. “It’ll start with him, but then I’ll make UFC great again and continue to fight the No. 1 guys who belong here. I sincerely feel I deserve the break. This will be my break, and then we’ll get back to fighting the real No. 1 contenders who fight the best guys and earn their way to the title, not the guys who have a funny accent and sell tickets.”

Earlier Tuesday, the middleweight bout between Rashad Evans and Tim Kennedy was removed from the card. Evans, a former light heavyweight champion, was not granted a license to fight by the New York State Athletic Commission because of an undisclosed medical issue.

Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com or 702-277-8028. Follow @adamhilllvrj on Twitter.