Eddie Alvarez has stared down some of the toughest fighters at 155 pounds over the course of his career. He's looked everyone from Michael Chandler to Donald Cerrone to Gilbert Melendez to Anthony Pettis to Rafael dos Anjos square in the eyes and never flinched.
But Alvarez believes the easiest staredown he's ever had in his career came last week. The UFC lightweight champion took the stage with UFC featherweight champion Conor McGregor during the UFC 205 press conference at The Theater at Madison Square Garden. And if you're to believe Philadelphia's finest, it was the easiest square off of his career.
"Usually when square off with a man, my heart rate goes up, I feel something," Alvarez said on Monday's edition of The MMA Hour. "I never felt so unthreatened by a human being as when I was up on a stage with him. That's the God's honest truth. I've never felt so unthreatened."
Alvarez has been straightforward in maintaining the McGregor is the easiest fight he'll have in quite some time. When pressed during his MMA Hour appearance as to why, Alvarez says the the featherweight champion simply doesn't have the all-around skill set so many of the killers ar 155 possess.
"They have a well-rounded skill set and even if the fight goes to another realm of MMA, from standing up, to ground, to jiu-jitsu, everyone is tough in each one," Alvarez said. "They're well versed, to the point where they can hang with some of the toughest guys in the world in any aspect of the sport. And I don't think [McGregor] can, from what I've seen."
Additionally, Alvarez believes McGregor's matchups with Nate Diaz exposed a fighter lacking in deep-waters cardio.
"The conditioning aspect is just not a good level of conditioning," the lightweight champ said. "The last Nate Diaz fight was a very big eye opener for me."