EDDIE ALVAREZ HAS insisted that the spanner in the works of a potential bout with Conor McGregor wasn’t caused by a failed attempt on his part to negotiate a bigger payday.
Alvarez, who ousted Rafael dos Anjos as UFC lightweight champion back in July, had been expected to make his first defence of the belt against reigning featherweight title-holder Conor McGregor at UFC 205 at Madison Square Garden in New York on 12 November.
But according to the UFC this week, Alvarez’s next opponent will be number one contender Khabib Nurmagomedov. The problem, according to the organisation, is that the Philadelphia native missed the deadline to sign the bout agreement for UFC 205, so the fight against Nurmagomedov may now take place at UFC 206 in Toronto on 10 December instead.
An article published last night by BJPenn.com claimed that Alvarez was on course to face McGregor but the UFC cancelled those plans when the 32-year-old lightweight champion demanded too much money to face the Irish superstar in what would undoubtedly be the most lucrative bout of his 13-year professional career.
However, Alvarez quickly took to Twitter to dismiss the report — which was based on quotes from former UFC heavyweight Brendan Schaub — as “a lie”.
Nurmagomedov has sought to put pressure on Alvarez to put pen to paper by tweeting screenshots of his own signed bout agreements, but Alvarez — who called McGregor out earlier this week — appears to be holding out for a clash with the Dubliner.
A report on this week’s edition of UFC Tonight on FOX Sports suggested that Dana White has ruled McGregor out of the historic Madison Square Garden show as he’s still carrying an injury from his win over Nate Diaz last month at UFC 202.
But that claim was denied by McGregor’s camp, who say the 28-year-old is currently training and ready to fight for a second UFC belt in New York in seven weeks’ time.
This has led to speculation that McGregor has become embroiled in another row with the UFC, similar to the one that saw him removed from the UFC 200 bill earlier this year for refusing to travel to Las Vegas for media obligations.
UFC 205 is still without a main event but an announcement is expected on Tuesday when a press conference will be held at Madison Square Garden.
