Filed under: Bellator, NewsThe injury that knocked Eddie Alvarez out of his scheduled October lightweight championship defense against Michael Chandler won’t keep him sidelined for long.
The Bellator star is back healthy, and has agreed to face Chandl…
The injury that knocked Eddie Alvarez out of his scheduled October lightweight championship defense against Michael Chandler won’t keep him sidelined for long.
The Bellator star is back healthy, and has agreed to face Chandler at Bellator 58 on November 19, the promotion confirmed late on Wednesday night.
The 27-year-old Alvarez has never lost under the Bellator banner, winning seven in a row since signing with the promotion. He won the lightweight championship in the promotion’s first season, and has successfully defended it on one occasion with a unanimous decision over Pat Curran. He also has non-title wins over Josh Neer and Roger Huerta during that time.
Alvarez is 22-2 overall.
Chandler was a collegiate wrestler at the University of Missouri who burst upon the national fight scene this year, romping through the season four lightweight tournament with wins over Marcin Weld, Lloyd Woodard and the highly regarded Patricky “Pitbull” Freire.
Chandler is 8-0 in his young career, which only began two years ago.
Bellator 58 will emanate from Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida, and will also feature middleweight champion Hector Lombard in a non-title fight against veteran Trevor Prangley.
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.
(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.
Filed under: Bellator, NewsBellator lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez has suffered an injury that will prevent him from his scheduled title defense against Michael Chandler at Bellator 54 on Oct. 15 in Atlantic City, N.J.
Bellator lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez has suffered an injury that will prevent him from his scheduled title defense against Michael Chandler at Bellator 54 on Oct. 15 in Atlantic City, N.J.
Bellator says the fight will be rescheduled and possibly for later in the season.
“Eddie Alvarez has a huge heart and if there was any way for him to fight on the 15th, I know he would,” Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney said in a statement. “Ed’s in spectacular condition, so both of us are hopeful that this fight can potentially still occur later this fall.”
Alvarez (22-2), who has won seven straight fights, competed once this year, making a successful title defense against Pat Curran at Bellator 39 in April. Chandler (8-0) earned his shot against Alvarez by beating Patricky Freire at Bellator 44 in May to win the season four lightweight tournament.
At the Bellator 54 event, bantamweight champion Zack Makovsky will remain on the card in a non-title fight against UFC veteran Ryan Roberts. In tournament action will be the two middleweight semifinals between Alexander Shlemenko vs. Brian Rogers and Bryan Baker vs. Vitor Vianna.
Unfortunately, ReX was unable to provide us with one of his famous Bellator reports this week, so you’ll have to settle for this quick-n-dirty recap of Bellator 44, which went down Saturday night in Atlantic City. First, we’ll direct you to the video above: Hector Lombard earned his 18th-straight victory (!) in a non-title bout against Falaniko Vitale, crushing Niko to the mat with a right hook in the third frame after a surprisingly dull first two rounds. Lombard’s latest performance follows such previous classics as “Six Second Prison Rape” and “A Corpse Named ‘Whisper’.”
Headlining the card, Xtreme Couture’s Michael Chandler scored an upset decision win over the highly-touted Patricky Freire in the Season Four Lightweight Tournament final, outworking the Pitbull in all three rounds; Chandler was docked a point in the third for groin-kicks. The victory netted him a $100,00 check and a future shot at Eddie Alvarez’s belt. In non-tournament action, Alexander Shlemenko spun circles around Brett Cooper, picking up his own UD victory, while Giedrius Karavackas battled back from an early ass-kicking to submit Sam Oropeza by scarf-hold armlock. Full results and video of the Karavackas/Oropeza stoppage are after the jump.
Unfortunately, ReX was unable to provide us with one of his famous Bellator reports this week, so you’ll have to settle for this quick-n-dirty recap of Bellator 44, which went down Saturday night in Atlantic City. First, we’ll direct you to the video above: Hector Lombard earned his 18th-straight victory (!) in a non-title bout against Falaniko Vitale, crushing Niko to the mat with a right hook in the third frame after a surprisingly dull first two rounds. Lombard’s latest performance follows such previous classics as “Six Second Prison Rape” and “A Corpse Named ‘Whisper’.”
Headlining the card, Xtreme Couture’s Michael Chandler scored an upset decision win over the highly-touted Patricky Freire in the Season Four Lightweight Tournament final, outworking the Pitbull in all three rounds; Chandler was docked a point in the third for groin-kicks. The victory netted him a $100,00 check and a future shot at Eddie Alvarez’s belt. In non-tournament action, Alexander Shlemenko spun circles around Brett Cooper, picking up his own UD victory, while Giedrius Karavackas battled back from an early ass-kicking to submit Sam Oropeza by scarf-hold armlock. Full results and video of the Karavackas/Oropeza stoppage are after the jump.
MAIN CARD
– Michael Chandler def. Patricky Freire via unanimous decision (29–27 x 3)
– Hector Lombard def. Falaniko Vitale via KO, 0:54 of round 3
– Giedrius Karavackas def. Sam Oropeza via submission (scarf hold armlock), 3:59 of round 3
– Alexander Shlemenko def. Brett Cooper via unanimous decision (30–27, 30–28, 29–28)
LOCAL FEATURE FIGHTS
– Jamall Johnson def. Randy Smith via submission (rear-naked choke), 4:16 of round 2
– Jeff Lentz def. Anthony Leone via unanimous decision (29–28 x 3)
– Jay Silva def. Gemiyale Adkins via unanimous decision (30–26, 30–27 x 2)
Filed under: Bellator, NewsIn the biggest fight of his mixed martial arts career, Michael Chandler stepped up with the best performance of his career, defeating Patricky “Pitbull” Freire by unanimous decision in the final of Bellator’s lightweight tour…
In the biggest fight of his mixed martial arts career, Michael Chandler stepped up with the best performance of his career, defeating Patricky “Pitbull” Freire by unanimous decision in the final of Bellator’s lightweight tournament at Bellator 44 on Saturday.
The victory earns Chandler a shot at Bellator lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez, who stepped into the cage immediately after the fight to congratulate Chandler.
“I’m looking forward to it,” Alvarez said. “I can’t wait.”
Filed under: Bellator, ResultsMMA Fighting has Bellator 44 results of Hector Lombard vs. Falaniko Vitale, Michael Chandler vs. Patricky Pitbull and the rest of the May 14 card in Atlantic City, N.J.
Bellator middleweight champion Lombard knocked out H…
Bellator middleweight champion Lombard knocked out Hawaii MMA veteran Vitale in a non-title bout. Meanwhile, Chandler bested Pitbull in the finals of this season’s lightweight tournament, banking $100,000 and a shot at champion Eddie Alvarez.
The injury that knocked Eddie Alvarez out of his scheduled October lightweight championship defense against Michael Chandler won’t keep him sidelined for long.
Bellator
In the biggest fight of his mixed martial arts career, 
MMA Fighting has