Morning Report: Eddie Alvarez is willing to fight ‘whoever the UFC wants,’ says Conor McGregor isn’t a ‘championship fighter’

Eddie Alvarez is taking all comers.

Since winning the UFC lightweight championship from Rafael dos Anjos at UFC Fight Night 90 in July, Alvarez has maintained that he is looking for a big money fight for his first title defense, preferably against the winner of the Conor McGregor-Nate Diaz rematch which took place this past weekend. However now that that fight is in the books, Alvarez appears less particular about who he faces next.

Speaking with Jon Anik and Kenny Florian on the Anik and Florian podcast yesterday, Alvarez talked about McGregor’s win over Diaz and what is next for himself.

“I’m waiting on the UFC. Whoever the UFC wants. I was looking forward to watching that fight this weekend with these two guys and we’ll see. I don’t know what’s gonna happen. I’m waiting to hear from the powers that be. I’ll fight whoever they want next. That’s who’s next.”

It appears Alvarez cooled on the idea of fighting the winner of UFC 202’s main event after watching the trouble McGregor had with Diaz, afterwards tweeting that McGregor has “work to do” (this could be great news for number one contender Khabib Nurmagomedov who has been angling for a lightweight title shot and who says Alvarez has already turned down multiple fights against him). He expanded on this with Anik and Florian, telling them that McGregor isn’t a championship caliber fighter.

“Honestly, the first round it all looked good but I’ve said it a million times, he’s just not a championship fighter. Not a five, 5 minute round fighter. Never has been, never will be. Some guys can have the chops for it and some guys don’t. I’ve said it from the beginning, I looked at him as a three, 5 minute round fighter and that’s where he’ll be, that’s where he should stay. I think he’s good. I think anything past 8-9 minutes it just starts to look sloppy and looks a little messy.”

After a strong first round, McGregor held off a late surge from Diaz, taking a close, majority decision in a Fight of the Year contender. In many people’s eyes, this fight cemented McGregor as one of the best fighters in the world, though Alvarez is apparently not one of them. Alvarez, who previously said McGregor “can’t fight for shit,” maintains that the featherweight champion isn’t up to par with the opponents he has already beaten.

“I’ve fought the best guys in the world…I look up to a lot of the guys I fight. I see them as some of the best guys. I try to challenge myself against them. But when I beat a legit guy who I feel has taken his time in this sport and is a real fighter and then I get done with the fight and I get asked about this Irish dude it’s really kind of disappointing to me…because the guys I’ve fought were way higher caliber than this guy.”

And despite Alvarez’s new laissez-faire attitude towards title defenses, that “Irish dude” may well end up being Alvarez’s next opponent. UFC President Dana White has stated that the UFC won’t be doing the McGregor-Diaz trilogy next and, speaking with TMZ today, said that McGregor has to defend his 145 lb. belt next or vacate it…unless he fights Eddie Alvarez. A champion vs. champion bout between Alvarez and the sport’s biggest star is exactly the kind of fight the UFC will be looking to headline one of the biggest events of the year, the UFC’s Madison Square Garden debut. If so, the lightweight champ would be more than happy to oblige.

“I’m …

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