Eddie Alvarez: Conor McGregor got lit up by Chad Mendes and his tiny little reach

I get the feeling current Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez isn’t overly concerned about the striking of reigning featherweight kingpin Conor McGregor.

I dunno, just a hunch.

Alvarez was a recent guest on the Talking Brawls podcast (via MMA Fighting) to lay out his case for a dominant win when they collide later this year. Not because “Notorious” can’t throw hands, but rather because his defense is so “fucking terrible.”

His words:

"I'll do whatever the fuck I want in any aspect against him. The opponents he's fought allow him to look great. That's the issue. That's what these WWF fans who follow him don't see. They see a guy who's fighting or playing to his strengths so he can do what he wants and be good at it. I'll do whatever the fuck I want. If I want to stand, I'll stand. He don't move his head, he gets hit a ton. Chad Mendes has a tiny little reach and was popping him all over the place with overhand rights and left hooks before he took him down. His defense is atrocious. His offense is good. He's offensively a good fighter when it comes to boxing and things but his defense is fucking terrible. A guy like me, I can go wherever. I can kick, I can punch, I can takedown, I can submit, and I can do it all fucking night."

Mendes was eventually stopped by strikes at UFC 189 back in July 2015.

Following that fight, McGregor moved on to unify the 145-pound titles by knocking out Jose Aldo. The Irishman then split a pair of welterweight bouts opposite Nate Diaz before moving down (but not all the way) to challenge Alvarez.

They’ll do the deed in the UFC 205 pay-per-view (PPV) main event, locked and loaded for Sat., Nov. 12, 2016 inside Madison Square Garden in New York City, the first “Big Apple” bash since MMA was legalized last year.

To see who else is fighting at UFC 205 click here.