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By: Cash Norman, MMATorch Contributor
Can you hear that? Listen, and listen closely. No, really, stop and listen, can't you hear the howling? The howling in the distance. It's the wolves, and they're coming for Eddie Alvarez; they're coming to feast upon him.
Yesterday afternoon, the UFC announced that Alvarez will be squaring off against Benson Henderson on January 18 in Boston, on a card headlined by Conor McGregor and Dennis Siver. While this may come as a surprise for some, I predicted this matchup in a roundtable discussion ahead of Eddie Alvarez's bout with Cowboy Cerrone at UFC 178. I would also like to point out I also forecast the Donald Cerrone vs Myles Jury bout as well. I predicted that bout would occur in the event of a Cerrone loss, though, which means I just need to fine tune my clairvoyance skills.
In the very near future, barring some unforeseen injury to Eddie Alvarez, he will square off against Benson Henderson, and he will lose. I do not say this because Alvarez is not a good fighter, he's shown he is. Alvarez will lose because he is not yet an elite fighter ready to conquer a top five competitor within the lightweight division of the UFC.
The problem with negotiating big paydays and leveraging your earning potential to make it into the promised land is that there will be no easy fights. As a champion in an outside organization, Alvarez will not receive any special treatment. He's not getting tune up fights he can win and make himself look good while building his overall skill development. Instead, Alvarez has walked into the most talent rich division of the UFC, and in order to remain on the UFC roster he has to face those wolves.
Regardless if you agree with how Dana White and company run the promotion, they seem to look to discredit any fighter who comes from an outside promotion, especially if they are a champion. Recent examples are Alistair Overeem, Hector Lombard, Ben Askren (they won't even let this poor bastard sniff the inside of the UFC), and now Eddie Alvarez. After one loss already in the division, Alvarez has a tough road ahead of him. While the pathway to the UFC may seem golden, it is an arduous and treacherous road to just gain a foothold in this division, let alone make it to the top.
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