Eddie Alvarez’s return to the Octagon has been bumped back indefinitely, as reports are breaking that the former Bellator lightweight champ is out of his UFC Fight Night 59 co-main event fight with former UFC lightweight champ Benson Henderson. Replacing him will be Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone.
.@CowboyCerrone back on the saddle and in the Octagon at #UFCBoston. http://t.co/kcEoTL5JlB pic.twitter.com/wkwS4N2XPq
— UFC News (@UFCNews) January 6, 2015
It is not currently known what is behind Alvarez’s withdrawal, but the change comes less than two weeks ahead of fight night.
Cerrone was seen just a few days ago, handily defeating Myles Jury at Saturday’s UFC 182. The remarkably quick turnaround will see Cerrone compete in back-to-back UFC events. He is currently riding a six-fight winning streak, a stretch that includes victories over Edson Barboza, Eddie Alvarez and Jim Miller.
Henderson, on the other hand, is coming off of a loss to Rafael dos Anjos at UFC Fight Night 49. However, with a 9-2 UFC record (with eight of those wins coming over ranked opponents) and the record for most defenses of the UFC lightweight title (he is tied with BJ Penn at three), he still ranks among the greatest lightweights in the sport today.
Henderson and Cerrone have faced off twice before in the WEC. At WEC 43, Henderson defeated Cerrone by decision to capture the interim lightweight strap in one of the greatest fights in mixed martial arts history. After defeating Jamie Varner to unify the WEC lightweight belt, he once again faced Cerrone at WEC 48, but would win this time via first-round guillotine choke.
Fight Night 59 is scheduled for January 18 in Boston. Stick with Bleacher Report for more details on Alvarez as they become available.
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