(Well, it’s safe to assume that Alvarez’s new training camp is off to a rough start.)
Lightweight Eddie Alvarez was a busy man on Twitter yesterday. Last October, Alvarez completed his final contracted fight for the Bellator organization and became a limited free agent. Emphasis on limited.
Almost immediately after said fight, the UFC made Alvarez an offer, one that Bellator had the right to match if they hoped to keep Alvarez. Since that time, Alvarez and Bellator have been locked in a battle over what the term “matched” truly means. While Bellator believes that they matched the UFC’s offer and therefore still have rights to Alvarez, their former lightweight champion disagrees. The two parties soon sued one another. Somehow, I just know that this is all Obama’s fault.
In January, a federal judge denied Alvarez’s petition to be freed from Bellator, but in April, the same judge also denied Bellator’s petition that part of Alvarez’s suit against them be dropped (Ed note: Are we having fun yet?). Though there were rumors that the two parties would eventually reach an agreement, Alvarez’s Twitter account said otherwise yesterday.
“We will be going to Trial And there will be NO settlement I want to see this thing through and Let the truth come out in the End,” the fighter tweeted.
Alvarez also tweeted that he had been “F_ed” by Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney and that he had moved his family to Florida where, “Miami has unsanctioned fights somewhere for cash” that he might have to take part in to “stay sharp.” Not that we’d ever endorse that sort of thing, but publicly announcing your intention to participate in some unsanctioned bad-assery on one sentence and then discussing your intention to use the legal system in another is pretty freaking cool.
We may be biased, however, since we just think it’s time top guys like Alvarez and Michael Chandler got to show what they can do in the UFC, especially after seeing how good the Strikeforce lightweights really are *cough* MelendezHealy *cough*.
Who knows how this whole saga will unfold, but visions of Alvarez training hard in the Jaco gym to prepare for Florida street fights are already dancing in my head. Never Back Down 3: Taking it to the Streets. Again. Based on a True(ish) Story, anyone?