(Suck it, Javier Sotomayor.)
In what will either make for a triumphant or disastrous turning point in Eddie Alvarez’s career (specifically, his marketability), the former Bellator lightweight champion has been booked to take on Brazilian knockout artist Patricky “Pitbull” Freire at Bellator 75, which goes down on October 12th at Caesar’s Windsor in Canada.
After collecting seven straight wins under the Bellator banner (6 by way of stoppage), Alvarez lost his lightweight strap in dramatic fashion, falling prey to a fourth round submission in a battle for the ages at Bellator 58 to Michael Chandler. Most recently, Alvarez earned some much sought after revenge when he battered and dispatched Shinya Aoki in the first round of their Bellator 66 throwdown, and immediately began making his case for a potential spot amongst the UFC’s ever growing lightweight roster thereafter. It just goes to show what beating up a man in multi-colored pastel tights can do for one’s confidence.
Patricky, on the other hand, will be looking to rebound from a huge upset he suffered in the quarterfinals of Bellator’s Season 6 lightweight tournament, where he was submitted in Frank Mir-esque fashion by Lloyd Woodward in the second round. Considering that Pitbull made it all the way to the finals of the previous season’s tournament, where he would be upended by, you guessed it, Michael Chandler, the defeat all but completely derailed his momentum train.
A win over Alvarez, however, would launch him right back into to the short list of contenders in Bellator’s moderately stacked (I’m feeling generous today) lightweight division. And given Alvarez’s tendency to get rocked at least once in most of his fights, Freire stands as good a chance as any of upsetting the 23-3 former champ. As we all know, Alvarez and the UFC have expressed a shared interest in one another in the near future, so a win over Pitbull would surely validate a possible signing. A loss, however, could cost him a chance to compete in the sport’s highest promotion altogether.
But hey, we’ve heard that the UFC is more than willing to sign a former Bellator champ with a considerable amount of hype behind him before, so as long as Alvarez doesn’t spend fifteen minutes imitating the striking attack of Marcus “Big Baby” Jones, he will more than likely be UFC bound. In either case, this match should make for one hell of a barnburner.
That being said, who do you like for this one?
MMA Fighting has