The announcement for the bout between Conor McGregor and Eddie Alvarez was less than 24 hours ago. Yet the two went at it verbally like old rivals Tuesday.
McGregor tore into Alvarez on a financial level at the UFC 205 on-sale press conference at the Theater at Madison Square Garden. "The Notorious" said Alvarez signed to fight him on his previous contract, rather than negotiating a new, bigger one with the UFC.
"He got it done by signing his last contract," McGregor said. "He didn't even negotiate new money for himself. Imagine that. Look at everybody up here. They're all dressed like me. They're all trying to talk like me. They're all trying to be me. Everyone in the game wants this fight. This is the lottery fight. And this man took it on his last contract.
"Imagine that. Imagine getting the biggest fight in the game and [the UFC] saying, ‘Shut your mouth, kid, you'll get paid what you did on your last fight and you're lucky you're getting that.'"
Alvarez, the UFC lightweight champ, fired back that he took the fight on his old contract because fighting McGregor is "easy money."
"You're here because you're the easiest dude in the division," Alvarez said. "That's why you're here. ... Take them stupid ass glasses off."
McGregor, 28, wasn't all that impressed with Alvarez's title-winning, first-round knockout win over Rafael dos Anjos, either.
"I thought it was very sloppy," McGregor said. "The shot selection was very, very poor. He got blessed. He got blessed with a lucky shot. His UFC career has been horrendous. He's very, very lucky to be in the position he is. He understands that. That's why he took this fight for the money he was on for the last fight. I mean, that says it all."
Alvarez, 32, would not be outdone, ripping McGregor's performances in his last two fights, both against Nate Diaz. McGregor lost the first by second-round submission and won the second via majority decision.
"This guy's got eight minutes of fight in him and that's it," Alvarez said. "He quits after eight minutes every fight. He's not a championship fighter. He's never been. And he's never ever fought anyone in the UFC like me. Ever.
"He spent $300 million on his last camp and gassed out eight minutes in."
A reporter asked Alvarez if he'd want to use his wrestling and grind away at McGregor. McGregor interrupted the answer.
"He's gonna be shooting, panicking, I'm gonna be hitting him from everywhere," McGregor said. "Sooner or later, he's gonna fall. One of those elbows, one of those shots are gonna dig into that soft, sweet spot, into the temple. And that's all she wrote! Two-weight world champion! UFC history! New York! The Irish are back!"
Alvarez laughed often from across the dais. He reiterated what he has said in the past about McGregor not being the fighter fans think he is.
"Come Nov. 12, you guys will see," McGregor said. "There is no Santa Claus. He don't exist."
Later on, McGregor brought back the financial talk. He said he made $25 million his last fight and is set to make about $40 million for the year.
"You're just another broke bum trying to sell some shit," McGregor said. "That's it. He's broke and he's desperate. And he's trying to make it, ‘McGregor is this, McGregor is that.' We've heard it all before. He's just another broke bum that can't afford to pay his f*cking bills. So that's all that is."