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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
When Eddie Alvarez fights Donald Cerrone next month at UFC 178, it will be just his second fight in nearly two years. That inactivity is due mainly to Bellator, who pushed him into a legal battle when they claimed to have matched the offer he received from the UFC in the winter of '12-'13.
Because of that lengthy court battle, and the settlement which kept him in Bellator another large chunk of time, he's coming into the UFC on a significant delay. UFC President Dana White is happy to finally see him in the Octagon, but thinks Alvarez got screwed out of some prime fighting time by his previous employer.
"That kid got screwed around a lot over the last couple of years," White said during a media scrum in Mexico City on Tuesday after the UFC 180 press conference. "The most important thing that was taken away from this kid was time, because as a professional athlete that is the only thing you have. You have a small window of opportunity to make money, do amazing things, have millions of people see it, etc, etc. And that time was stolen from him. Horrible what was done to that kid."
"That being said, I'm happy for him. He's finally here, he's getting the opportunity to fight a guy like 'Cowboy' who's on an unbelievable roll. Win, lose, or draw, he's here in the UFC now and I'm happy for him."
Penick's Analysis: Alvarez would have been given a significant opportunity in the Spring of 2013 had the UFC been able to bring him in, and instead he had to wait another half year before coming to that settlement. Now, ten months after his last fight, he'll get a chance to earn a title bout in this fight with Cerrone. It's a great opportunity, but the fact that he has lost a that time he could have spent in the UFC definitely is a setback.
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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