UFC superstar Conor McGregor will walk into the bright lights of Madison Square Garden for his next fight, to be held against Eddie Alvarez.
The bout will headline UFC 205 on November 12 (US time) and will decide the UFC’s lightweight championship.
Should McGregor win the bout, he will become the first fighter in UFC history to hold the lightweight and featherweight champion belts at the same time, and just the third person to win titles in multiple weight classes. BJ Penn and Randy Coutre are the other two.
The Irish megastar took home the featherweight title last December when he knocked out Jose Aldo in just 13 seconds in what was the quickest finish to a fight in the history of UFC title bouts.
A shot at the featherweight-lightweight double was meant to follow March, but an injury to Rafael dos Anjos instead led to McGregor’s incredible rivalry with Nate Diaz. Fighting in the welterweight division, Diaz was too strong for McGregor in UFC 196, handing the Irishman his first-ever UFC loss with a second-round submission, before McGregor struck back with a majority decision win over Diaz, again at welterweight, in August.
The title fight against Alvarez will headline the UFC’s first event at New York’s Madison Square Garden. There had been a mixed martial arts ban at the venue since 1997, but it was rescinded earlier this year in a move which paved the way for the UFC’s debut at the historic venue.
“This is the fight the fans wanted, and I’m excited that our very first event at Madison Square Garden will be headlined by Eddie Alvarez defending the lightweight title against Conor McGregor,” UFC president Dana White said to ESPN.
“This card has three world title fights and is the best card in UFC history.”
Alvarez, who has been calling for a matchup with McGregor for some time now, is the holder of the lightweight title thanks to a first-round knockout victory against dos Anjos back in July.
UFC 205 Fight Card
Conor McGregor vs Eddie Alvarez (Lightweight)
Donald Cerrone vs Kelvin Gastelum (Welterweight)
Frankie Edgar vs Jeremy Stephens (Featherweight)
Liz Carmouche vs Katlyn Chookagian (Women’s bantamweight)
Rafael Natal vs Tim Boestch (Middleweight)
Rashad Evans vs Tim Kennedy (Middleweight)
Joanna Jedrzejcyzk vs Karolina Kowalkiewicz (Women’s strawweight)
Miesha Tate vs Raquel Pennington (Women’s bantamweight)
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