According to reports from both Sherdog and MMA Fighting, Bellator lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez will not make his planned third meeting with Michael Chandler next Saturday night at Bellator 120.
Alvarez, who won the belt from Chandler last year in a rematch between the two, suffered a concussion in training. The reports state that Season 9 tournament winner Will Brooks will move from a main card bout with Nate Jolly to face Chandler.
Bellator was hit with the same devastating news in 2013 when it attempted to host a pay-per-view event for the first time. Just days before the card was to go down, Tito Ortiz suffered a neck injury and could not make his planned main event fight with fellow former UFC light heavyweight champion Quinton “Rampage” Jackson.
Now, it is Alvarez (25-3) who will be out of action for an unknown amount of time at the moment. The two-time Bellator champion was involved in a lengthy legal battle with the promotion after first losing the title to Chandler in 2011. He was offered a deal by the UFC, but Bellator fought to match it in the court room, and Alvarez eventually agreed to the contract.
He returned last year and earned a split decision over Chandler to become the champion. All of Bellator‘s promotional work for this pay-per-view event has centered around Alvarez-Chandler fighting for a third time, including many preview shows on Spike TV.
The card is expected to feature Jackson taking on Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal in the Season 10 light heavyweight tournament final along with Ortiz making his debut with Bellator against middleweight champion Alexander Shlemenko in a non-title fight.
Bellator officials, including chairman and CEO Bjorn Rebney, have yet to make a statement regarding the Alvarez injury. When asked during the Bellator 119 post-fight press conference, Rebney stated the fight was still on, per MMA Junkie.
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