FORMER UFC lightweight kingpin Eddie Alvarez has revealed who he thinks will come out victorious when Conor McGregor fights Michael Chandler.
UFC superstar McGregor, 34, is just finished recording coaching The Ultimate Fighter opposite Michael Chandler in Las Vegas.
Conor McGregor during the weigh-in for Saturday's UFC 205 mixed martial arts bouts, Friday, Nov. 11, 2016, at Madison Square Garden in New York. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)" />UFC president Dana White stands next to Eddie Alvarez and Conor McGregor during the weigh-in for Saturday’s UFC 205 in 2016 at Madison Square Garden in New York.
Eddie Alvarez and Michael Chandler fought twice during their time at Bellator MMA
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The pair are set to throw down, although a date and venue for the bout hasn’t been finalised by Dana White and the UFC.
The American has fought both McGregor and Chandler during his time in the UFC and Bellator.
Alvarez fought Chandler twice in two Bellator MMA classics.
He dropped one fight via submission in 2011 before claiming back his lightweight strap two years later after winning a decision on the scorecard at Bellator 106.
The Philadelphia native also fought Conor McGregor at UFC 205, he lost the UFC lightweight title after being knocked out by the Dubliner in NYC.
And MMA legend Alvarez reckons McGregor’s boxing know-how will be too much for Chandler to handle.
Speaking to Helen Yee ahead of his Bare Knuckle Boxing Championship bout against Chad Mendes, Alvarez reckons Chandler needs to use his wrestling against the Dublin ace.
He said: “If I felt Mike was going to go back to his wrestling roots and take Conor down and wear him out – Mike kind of has the ability to do that – to a lot of guys, he could have done it to [Justin] Gaethje. He could have done it to a lot of his opponents, and he opted to stand in the ring and bang.
“He’s winning fans over – that’s great – but he’s not winning as many fights as he can be with the skillset he has.
“I think he thinks that he can knock Conor out, and I think he’s going to stand an do what he has been doing, rather than take Conor down.
Alvarez also reckons that Chandler’s striking skillset is too basic to compete with the Dubliner’s vast repertoire.
He added: “That being said, I think Conor has a huge – there’s a real disadvantage to Mike by trying to going into a striking match with Conor McGregor – I think there’s s huge speed advantage on Conor’s part, experience advantage on the boxing, and the angles, and the timing. Conor is tricky; and Mike is not very tricky.
“His [Michael Chandler] game as far as striking – It is very simple, especially when Conor’s people will look at it.”
The Mark Henry trained fighter went on to add that he thinks McGregor will have his hand raised against Chandler when the duo fight in the Octagon.
He concluded: “So, the fact I think Mike isn’t going to implement the right game plan, I think he’s going to lose the striking battle with Conor.”
