Update:
Bellator held a conference call which Bleacher Report took part in confirming Sherdog’s and MMAFighting’s reports and elaborated on their future plans. The card will remain on pay per view and will be headlined by Mo Lawal vs. Quinton Jackson. The bout between Michael Chandler and Will Brooks will be a five-round interim title fight.
Alvarez’s injury was suffered last week, and as such, it is too early to give a definite timetable for his return.
Brooks was pulled from a fight with Nate Jolly. The Season 9 Heavyweight Tournament final bout between Blagoy Ivanov and Alexander Volkov is being elevated from the Spike TV portion of the preliminary card to pay per view. Jolly may or may not receive another opponent, and it is unknown what fight will replace Ivanov vs. Volkov on Spike TV.
Original story:
Originally reported by Sherdog.com, Bellator lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez is reportedly withdrawing from his scheduled title fight with Michael Chandler next Saturday at Bellator 120. MMAFighting.com’s Guilherme Cruz confirmed the news and discovered that Alvarez had suffered a concussion in training and will be unable to compete.
The news comes a week in advance of the rubber match, which was scheduled to headline the event. Bellator has yet to address the news, and it is unknown if the card will remain a pay-per-view event or if it will make the card available on Spike TV.
According to Sherdog’s report, Chandler will remain on the card and will face off with Season 9 lightweight tournament winner “Ill” Will Brooks. It’s unknown whether Chandler vs. Brooks will remain atop the card, or whether the co-main event between Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and Muhammed Lawal will be featured. Additionally, it is unknown if the bout will be a three-round “feature fight” or if Brooks vs. Chandler will be dubbed an interim lightweight title fight.
This is the second time Bellator has seen a proposed pay-per-view headlining fight fall apart. Last year, at Bellator 106, a scheduled non-title fight between former UFC champions Jackson and Tito Ortiz fell apart due to a neck injury suffered by Ortiz. The bout falling through resulted in Jackson being pulled from the card and the event being moved from pay-per-view to Spike TV.
Once again, Bellator has not addressed the news, and its website still has Bellator 120 being advertised as Alvarez vs. Chandler 3. Stick with Bleacher Report for more details as they become available.
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