The UFC really left it until the 11th hour to book Conor McGregor and Eddie Alvarez to headline UFC 205.
On November 12 the UFC will make history by having their first ever event in New York city. It will be a momentous occasion for MMA as the sport had been banned in the state from 1997 until April 2016. Although it was stacked from top to bottom, it really needed a fitting main event.
With Ronda Rousey’s future at the time still up in the air and with New York native Jon Jones still awaiting to hear his punishment for his failed drug test before UFC 200, only one legitimate superstar was available to be the event’s big draw. Fight fans had been praying for Conor McGregor to get the call to make history by taking on lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez, but the route to that fight being booked was thorny.
Meet the man standing between Conor McGregor and his dream of making UFC history #UFC205 https://t.co/uNcBc4SvMd
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) September 27, 2016
First it was thought that the Notorious may have been injured, then there were reports that the Underground King was having a contract dispute with the promotion, but both of them showed up at the official press conference as the fight was finally made.
On the MMA Hour, SBG head coach revealed that even he found out extremely late that his prize pupil was actually going to fight on the landmark card.
“It was back and forward for weeks and then the last couple of days it was on, it was off, it was on, it was off. I went to bed that night… about might, 1 am. I knew I was going to hear then whether we were flying the next morning. I didn’t hear anything. I presumed it was off.”
“About an hour later I just sleepily checked my phone and it said, ‘Airport 10 am.’ So, it was on”
Kavanagh was present at the presser, despite the fact he normally shies away from media work. However, he made an exception this time because this type of spectacle isn’t exactly a regular occurrence.
“I’ve actually never been to a media event I don’t have to be at. It’s not really my thing. After the fights I just usually go back to the hotel, but there’s something about this event that I want to take everything in. As a team we’ve done some pretty cool things over the years and I feel I’m always lost in the moment.”
“Journalists can be a little bit guilty of this as well, while it’s going on they’re always asking, ‘what’s next?’ I wanted to be careful not to do that because I do think this is a very special event for a number of reasons and I want to savour every moment so I flew to New York that day, got in early evening – maybe 3 or 4 pm, the event was at 7 pm for an hour or so, I was back at the airport at 10 pm and I was teaching classes the next morning in Dublin.”
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