Eddie Alvarez Injured, Donald Cerrone Faces Benson Henderson At UFC Fight Night 59
Former Bellator lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez’ UFC career isn’t exactly getting off to a glaring start.
After he lost a lopsided decision to No. 4-ranked Donald Cerrone at September 27’s UFC 178, Alvarez looked to rebound against a fellow skidding former champion when he signed on to face Ben Henderson in the co-main event of January 18’s UFC Fight Night 59.
Tonight, however, news has unfortunately broke that Alvarez has been forced out of the fight with an injury.
Ironically enough, Cerrone has signed on to make an incredibly fast turnaround after defeating Myles Jury in the co-main event of last Saturday’s (January 3, 2015) UFC 182 to take Alvarez’ spot for a third match against “Smooth.”
Dana White announced the change on Instagram:
“Cowboy” wanted another fight soon, and remarkably enough, he got it on the very next card. He’ll look for his first win against Henderson after dropping two WEC lightweight title fights to him. Their first fight was an incredibly close decision win for Henderson at WEC 43 in what many still feel was “Fight of the Year” in 2009.
The rematch wasn’t nearly as close, as “Smooth” submitted Cerrone with a first round guillotine at WEC 48.
That may make it seem like Henderson will hold a big edge going into the short notice bout, but Cerrone has been on a peerless tear since UFC 166, winning six straight bouts over top competition.
On the other side of the cage, Henderson will badly need a win. He had begun to erase the bad taste of his UFC 164 loss to current champ Anthony Pettis with two victories over Josh Thomson and Rustam Khabilov, which was his first UFC finish.
But “Smooth” suffered another setback when he met surging number one contender Rafael dos Anjos at August’s UFC Fight Night 49, suffering his first-ever knockout loss thanks to a thunderous first round left hook.
UFC Fight Night 59, which features a featherweight main event between Conor McGregor and Dennis Siver that could see “Notorious” earn his anticipated title shot with a win, will take place at the TD Garden from Boston, Massachusetts.
Photo Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea for USA TODAY Sports
