Conor McGregor, Eddie Alvarez to meet in UFC 205 main event

UFC featherweight champion Conor McGregor and lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez will clash atop the UFC 205 card, the promotion announced late Monday night. 

McGregor would become the first fighter in UFC history to hold two belts simultaneously with a victory over Alvarez at Madison Square Garden on Nov. 12. The prospect of the bout was subject to much speculation in recent days and comes after Alvarez demanded a fight with McGregor on Twitter last week.

McGregor avenged his lone UFC defeat with a victory over Nate Diaz at UFC 202 in August. McGregor was originally scheduled for face then-lightweight champ Rafael dos Anjos at UFC 196 in his first attempt to hold to two belts at once, but dos Anjos was injured in training ahead of UFC 198, which forced Diaz to step in for a non-title fight and submitted McGregor. 

UFC 205 is the first event the promotion will have in New York since the state lifted its ban on professional mixed marital arts. The fight card already features two other title fights: welterweight champ Tyron Woodley vs. Stephen Thompson and women’s strawweight champ Joanna Jedrzejczyk vs. Karolina Kowalkiewicz.

PHOTOS: BEST OF CONOR MCGREGOR