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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
Two former champions in the lightweight division will square off in January, as Globo in Brazil reports that Anthony Pettis will take on Eddie Alvarez on January 17 at an event that could come to Boston, Mass.
Pettis, former UFC Lightweight Champion, returns for the first time since losing his title to Rafael dos Anjos in March. He suffered an elbow injury in training late in the spring which took him out of a planned fight at UFC on Fox 16, and now he'll try to get back into the title picture against the former Bellator Lightweight Champion.
Alvarez made his UFC debut last September, vacating his belt to sign with the UFC. Unfortunately, he lost that debut by decision, but bounced back with a close decision win over Gilbert Melendez in June.
If the UFC goes to Boston for an event on Jan. 17, it will be the second January in a row after this year's UFC Fight Night 59. That card was headlined by Conor McGregor's bout with Dennis Siver, and was the most-watched MMA event on cable television in years.
Penick's Analysis: Given the timing, this is likely to be a Fox Sports 1 event, and hopefully this fight is the headliner. They should have five rounds to work with in this matchup; it's an excellent fight regardless, but it's deserving of the five round treatment. Pettis needs to have a much better fight than he did against dos Anjos, and Alvarez still has a lot to prove despite edging the split decision against Melendez. There's a lot on the line here, and if it's indeed happening, this one could be fantastic.
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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