Eddie Alvarez was just weeks away from title fight with season four Bellator lightweight tournament winner, Michael Chandler.
Now the bout between Alvarez and Chandler has hit a minor snag. Alvarez—the current Bellator lightweight champion—has suffered undisclosed injuries and won’t be ready in time for the October 15th title fight at Bellator 54 in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
According to Alvarez though it is only a minor snag and should only delay the title fight for 30 days.
“Eddie suffered an injury that will keep him out of our Oct. 15 show at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City,” Bellator Chairman and CEO Bjorn Rebney said on MMAJunkie.com. “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.”
Alvarez is considered a top five lightweight by many MMA outlets and is undefeated in six bouts for Bellator. Alvarez is 22-2 overall in his MMA career with his only losses coming against Shinya Aoki and Nick Thompson.
Alvarez won the Bellator lightweight title in June of 2009 when he won the inaugural season one lightweight tournament. Alvarez has only defended his title once since then with two other fights being non-title bouts.
Chandler is 8-0 in his young career and was recently crowned the Bellator season four lightweight tournament winner when he beat Patricky Friere at Bellator 44 in May. Chandler is 5-0 in Bellator and also has two wins under the Strikeforce banner.
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