Everything Eddie Alvarez believes about MMA says Conor McGregor should have no chance of beatingMax HollowayatUFC 329. However, "The Notorious" has made his name by shattering expectations.
Alvarez is a firm backer of the concept of ring rust, and McGregor (22-6 MMA, 10-4 UFC) will have five years of it when he steps back in the cage against Holloway (27-9 MMA, 23-9 UFC) in the July 11 headliner at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas (Paramount+).
The amount of time away from the octagon is the one absolute certainty in McGregor's comeback. What's unknown, however, is the degree of deterioration to the 38-year-old's skillset and physical state after such a significant stint away from competition.
"I don't like people taking off this sport. I think it's dangerous when you put this sport down," Alvarez told MMA Junkie. "It's not something you can put down and pick up. It's too dangerous, and when you're fighting, I often compare it to someone who is getting ready for a movie role. You have to become the character. And once you're in character then you go put on a good performance. But it takes a while to become that ruthless dog that you need to be in order to go in there and fight viciously the way we do. And you can't just put it down and pick it up whenever you want. It takes a while to get into it.
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"That comeback needs to be built in with a large amount of training, warm-up fights and things like that in order to build into a massive fight, especially coming back with a guy like Max Holloway. Max has been active. Max is younger. Max has been a lot more active and in the game and didn't put the game down. You're going against a guy that has been well fed, and he put the game down. He said, 'I don't want to do it right now anymore,' and now he's coming back. There's a lot of guessing about Conor and the Conor we're going to get to see. We'll see."
Alvarezsuffered a second-round TKO lossto McGregor when they met at UFC 205 in November 2016. It's the last meaningful win McGregor has achieved in MMA, because it made him lightweight champion in addition to previously capturing the featherweight belt.
Former UFC and Bellator champ has witnessed the type of fighter McGregor can be when at the peak of his game. Although it might not be possible to recapture that in full, Alvarez said McGregor carries a critical trait that can even the playing field in a scenario where it seems like everything is stacked against him.
"Conor has an obsessiveness about him that he can make up for years of not training in a short period of time that other guys don't have," Alvarez said. "If anybody is able to come do this, it'll be him. But it definitely to me would be one of the best comeback stories we've ever seen in the sport."
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie:UFC 329: Former Conor McGregor foe not doubting Max Holloway upset
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