...OH, ONE MORE THING - PLEASE BOOKMARK US & VISIT DAILY!
By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
Eddie Alvarez has signed with the UFC just hours after being granted his unconditional release from Bellator this afternoon.
The UFC announced on Tuesday afternoon that the exiting Bellator Lightweight Champion will indeed fight Donald Cerrone at UFC 178, as had been rumored earlier this summer.
Bobby Green had stepped in to fight Cerrone, taking him out of a fight with Jorge Masvidal, but he'll now be moved to a different event against a new opponent.
Alvarez finally makes his way to the Octagon after years of being one of the best lightweights outside of the UFC. He attempted to after his Bellator contract came to an end in the fall of 2012, but Bellator claimed a "match" to what the UFC offered, setting off a legal battle that kept Alvarez out a year.
He finally reached a settlement for a rematch with Michael Chandler, which brought a third fight after he won last November. However, when he was pulled from that bout in May, Chandler lost to replacement Will Brooks, throwing Alvarez's future into question.
With a change in power in the organization this summer, a new regime under Scott Coker opted today to grant him his full release, and now he'll try to immediately enter the title picture in his fight against Cerrone.
That bout will serve as the new co-main event for the Sept. 27 card, which is headlined now by the Flyweight Title bout between Demetrious "Mighty Mouse" Johnson and Chris Cariaso.
Penick's Analysis: Well, even though this card no longer has Jon Jones-Daniel Cormier on top, that main card is just fine for pay-per-view. The title bout leaves a bit to be desired, but as a whole, the card is more than worth the pay-per-view price, and this fight itself is can't miss. If Alvarez beats Cerrone, another win this winter could mean he's fighting for the UFC Title early in 2015.
[Eddie Alvarez photo (c) Henry Dziekan III]
DON'T GO YET... WE SUGGEST THESE MMATORCH ARTICLES, TOO!
Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
STAFF COLUMNISTS: Shawn Ennis - Jason Amadi
Frank Hyden - Rich Hansen
Chris Park - Matt Pelkey
Interested in joining MMATorch's writing team? Send idea for a theme to your column (for Specialist section) or area of interest (i.e. TV Reporter) along with a sample of writing to mmatorch@gmail.com.
