Conor McGregor's coach: Eddie Alvarez a 'slightly easier' path to history than Rafael dos Anjos

Conor McGregor will look to earn himself another spot in the mixed martial arts (MMA) record books this Saturday night (Nov. 12, 2016) when he faces Eddie Alvarez in the main event of UFC 205 in New York City in a Lightweight title fight. Should he prove victorious, "Notorious" will become the first and only man to ever hold two different titles in as many divisions simultaneously under the UFC banner.

It’s a feat McGregor was looking to accomplish earlier this year, finagling a fight against Rafael dos Anjos earlier this year while "RDA" was the 155-pound roost ruler. But, a broken foot cancelled the much-anticipated bout, triggering a pair of Welterweight bouts against Nate Diaz. That said, on the heels of a potential history-making night for the mouthy Irishman, McGregor’s head coach, John Kavanagh, believes Alvarez presents less resistance than dos Anjos in McGregor's pursuit of a career-defining moment.

"I think Alvarez is a little bit more straightforward," Kavanagh told MMAjunkie. "Dos Anjos obviously has a world-class submission game on the ground. Alvarez is more basic on the ground. He’s just going to hold you there and throw some shots, whereas dos Anjos has very slick jiu-jitsu.

"In other respects, they’re both quite similar in that they’re both physically similar, and similar style," added the trainer. "A couple punches, then try to get a takedown. But, I think Eddie is slightly the easier fight because he’s orthodox and doesn’t have quite the submission game as dos Anjos."

While Alvarez provides the added challenges of facing a knockout artist with good wrestling, Kavanagh says it’s not something they haven't seen before.

"I can see a similar fight to (Chad) Mendes (at UFC 189)," he said. "I think Eddie will use up a lot of energy in round one trying to pin Conor to the fence. I think late in round two, the left hand will land and that will be all she wrote."

Of course, Alvarez has a different scenario playing out in his head, as he is determined to spoil McGregor’s path to history by retaining his title and showing the world that "Notorious" simply doesn’t possess the will of champion. Plus, he has a greater reach and more power than Mendes. Oh, and he also knocked out the aforementioned dos Anjos in the very first round (see it here) to claim the 155-pound strap.

Is it Saturday yet?