(Photo courtesy of Bellator)
Bellator Fighting Championships announced today that lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez (22-2) has suffered an undisclosed injury and has been forced to pull out of an October 15 title bout with undefeated Season 4 lightweight tournament winner Michael Chandler (8-0) that was slated for Bellator 54 at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, N.J.
In spite of the setback, Bellator chairman and CEO Bjorn Rebney is optimistic that Alvarez will defend his belt in the fall, but wouldn’t say whether or not Chandler will wait in the champ to heal.
“Eddie suffered an injury that will keep him out of our October 15th show at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City,” said Rebney. “Eddie Alvarez has a huge heart and if there was any way for him to fight on the 15th, I know he would. Ed’s in spectacular condition, so both of us are hopeful that this fight can potentially still occur later this fall.”
The prelims of the card, which will feature the semifinals of Bellator’s middleweight tournament, as well as Bellator Bantamweight Champion Zack Makovsky in a non-title super fight against former UFC veteran Ryan Roberts, will be broadcast on Spike TV at 7 p.m. ET, while the main card will air at 9 p.m. ET on MTV2 and in commercial-free HD on EPIX.