UFC lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez is as tough as they come. The former two-time Bellator LW champ has only been TKO’d once, and that was against the much larger Nick Thompson in a welterweight contest in 2007.
That hasn’t stopped Brazilian Jiu Jitsu phenom Dillon Danis -- or many others, for that matter -- from picking Conor McGregor to KO Alvarez when they meet at UFC 205 in New York.
Danis, a highly touted BJJ world champion with multiple titles to his name, formed a brotherly bond with McGregor when he helped to prepare the Irishman for his rematch with Nate Diaz at UFC 196.
“I’m here for him”, Danis revealed to The Mac Life in a recent interview. “We help each other. I wouldn’t say I’m just helping him because he also helps me a lot. My mind – everything. We’re a good tag-team, I think. He’s my brother from Ireland. I have my brothers back home in New York and now I have my brothers here too”.
Danis recently won double gold in the New York No GI Pan Ams and expects ‘The Notorious’ to have similar success at Madison Square Garden. The Brazilian expects McGregor to knock Alvarez ‘out cold’ on Nov. 12.
“Conor is going to knock him out cold”, Danis said. “As John Kavanagh would say, Conor could knock someone out in a phone booth so if Eddie tries to get close he’s going to get lit up. We’re ready for everything”.
If Danis’ prediction comes true, McGregor will be the first simultaneous two-division champion in UFC history. ‘The Notorious’ accomplished a similar feat when he won the Cage Warriors featherweight and lightweight titles in back-to-back fights in 2012.
UFC 205, which will feature Alvarez vs. McGregor in the main event, takes place on November 12 at Madison Square Garden in New York.