The UFC is screwing up Eddie Alvarez’s debut

Eddie Alvarez, Photo Credit: Sherdog.com

Finally, Eddie Alvarez is making his way to the UFC. Alvarez has been a perennial Top 10 fighter, and has arguably been the top fighter outside the UFC for a number of years.

With news coming out that Bellator released Alvarez, his signing with the UFC was a given. Considering UFC Lightweight champion Anthony Pettis is booked to face Gilbert Melendez, Alvarez wasn’t going to walk right into the UFC and fight for the title. Yet, instead of booking Alvarez against T.J. Grant this Fall, the UFC may have jumped the gun in having him face Donald Cerrone. A win over Cerrone could equate to an immediate title shot for Alvarez, but a loss is something the UFC seems to not be considering.

Why risk Alvarez losing to Cerrone, when they could have built Alvarez off a name like Diego Sanchez, Takanori Gomi, or Ross Pearson. I realize there are no easy fights in the UFC, but if the UFC truly wants to build new stars, why not build them up by having them face lesser opponents. I think a lot of us agree that Alvarez vs. Cerrone has Fight of the Year written all over it, but why rush it? The UFC could have easily had Cerrone face Bobby Green and Alvarez face Ross Pearson. Both guys win, and then they face off for a title shot against the winner of Pettis-Melendez. The timing would have been perfect. Now, the winner of Cerrone-Alvarez will likely have to wait a considerable amount of time for a potential title shot. Yet, what bugs me the most is the loser of Alvarez-Cerrone completely becomes irrelevant in the title picture.

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