The UFC Fight Night event scheduled for Boston on January 18th, 2015 has added a strong co-main event in the lightweight division where Eddie Alvarez will face former titleholder Benson Henderson. This gives the UFC a solid supporting act to the highly anticipated Conor McGregor vs Dennis Siver featherweight bout. It is an interesting match-up of two long time denizens of the weight class’ top 10, but both are coming off losses and both are at risk of really slipping in the rankings with another loss.
No clue how this one will pop up at the sport books as far as a favorite. The UFC would probably be better served if Alvarez had a win after his high profile exodus from Bellator and signing, but this is by no means an easy fight for Alvarez.
Alvarez made his UFC debut last September after being released by Bellator, where he was a former champion, so that he could sign with the UFC. He dropped an exciting fight with Donald Cerrone, but the UFC is going to want to see him win fights to justify his salary. The UFC doesn’t really lose if Alvarez drops two in a row, as that allows them to state that Bellator’s champion went 0-2 with them and faded firmly into the middle of the pack in the lightweight division. The UFC is in the cat bird’s seat, because win or lose, the UFC can spin the Alvarez situation to their benefit. So they can afford to give him a really tough fight.
Henderson too, is another guy who the UFC must hate. A former champion in the weight class who defended the belt several times before losing it, Henderson was not seriously considered for a rematch and he was fed a steady diet of top 10 guys. He beat Josh Thompson and Rustam Khabilov before getting caught by Rafael Dos Anjos, and now Alvarez.
For the winner, there will be more tough work ahead, as the division is stacked. With Champion Anthony Pettis set to defend against Gilbert Melendez. Then there is the aforementioned Dos Anjos, Russia’s undefeated star Khabib Nurmagomedov and Alvarez slayer Donald Cerrone all lining up for a shot at the belt, for the winner of Henderson-Alvarez, this fight is just the first step towards working back into contention.
Check out Eddie Alvarez on the old ‘Bully Beatdown’ TV show:
