Conor McGregor vs Eddie Alvarez
Eddie Alvarez (left) squares up to Conor McGregor at the UFC 205 press conference for their 12 November bout Getty Images

Eddie Alvarez says he will prove Conor McGregor does not have the heart to stand toe-to-toe with him – by ripping it out of his chest and showing it to the crowd at UFC 205.

New York's fabled Madison Square Garden will host its first-ever UFC event on 12 November with McGregor – the reigning featherweight champion – aiming to become the first man in the promotion's history to hold belts at two different weights at the same time.

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In his attempts to temper the Dubliner's bravado, lightweight champion Alvarez has persistently questioned McGregor's status as UFC's toughest.

In an interview with Fox Sports, the Philadelphia-born fighter vowed to end their showdown with a submission, recalling McGregor's submission defeat to Nate Diaz at UFC 196 and predicting a similar outcome.

In that bout, McGregor wilted against the more physical Diaz before attempting a misguided takedown. Diaz countered and locked on a rear-naked choke-hold that forced his opponent to tap in the second round.

While McGregor roared back with victory in his rematch with Diaz in August, Alvarez is not convinced his opponent has the strength or the endurance to take his title from him.

"From what I have seen in the past and what he has done in the past [his heart] is very questionable and I am not the only one who's questioned it," Alvarez told Fox Sports. "I think he has quit in him and I think it takes a tad of adversity and him to get into a little bit of a fight to pull it out of him.

"On November 12, I'm going to pull it out of him and I'm going to show it to the millions of people and the crowd. Everybody is going to see it. We're going to reveal the quit."

McGregor was initially scheduled to have his first crack at making UFC history in March when he was slated to fight then-lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos.

Injury forced dos Anjos to pull out, however, with Diaz stepping up to fill the main event slot at UFC 196. McGregor's shock defeat put further title aspirations on hold with the two meeting again at UFC 202, when the Irish fighter got his revenge in a bloody battle.

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