UFC 205’s star-studded card will feature a champion-versus-champion showdown.
UFC president Dana White announced Monday night on ESPN that featherweight champion Conor McGregor will fight lightweight belt holder Eddie Alvarez in UFC 205’s main event at Madison Square Garden in New York.
McGregor will not be forced to relinquish his featherweight title, meaning a victory over Alvarez will make him the first two-division champion in UFC history.
UFC 205 also will be the third different weight class in which McGregor has fought during the past year. After unifying the featherweight belt at UFC 194, McGregor fought Nate Diaz at welterweight in two blood-filled bouts at UFC 196 and UFC 202. Now McGregor returns to lightweight for the first time since 2012.
Alvarez won the lightweight belt in July when he defeated Rafael Dos Anjos via a first-round TKO in Las Vegas. During the post-fight press conference that night, Alvarez threw some shade at McGregor by asking White to give him “an easier fight like McGregor.” McGregor responded by calling Alvarez “a bum” and “a novice.”
UFC 205’s marquee card will feature two other title bouts. Tyron Woodley will attempt to defend his welterweight belt against Stephen Thompson, while Joanna Jedrzejczyk will seek her fourth title defense in the women’s strawweight division against Karolina Kowalkiewicz.
Other notable fighters scheduled to fight are Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone, Frankie Edgar and Miesha Tate.
Thumbnail photo via Joshua Dahl/USA TODAY Sports Images
