A blockbuster fight between two elite Lightweights has been added to May’s UFC 211 card, as Eddie Alvarez is set to face off against Dustin Poirier.
The fight sees No.3 ranked lightweight Alvarez (28-5) taking on Poirier (21-5), who is ranked at No.10, in a bout which will put the winner in a very promising position for a title shot, given the current state of the division.
With current champion Conor McGregor absent until late this year, and the interim-title fight between Tony Ferguson and Khabib Nurmagomedov having fallen through last weekend, the lightweight division is in a state of flux. There is no obvious move that the UFC can make in regards to the title picture, but this should be an exciting fight nonetheless.
Philadelphia’s Alvarez will be looking to bounce back from his most recent fight, a knockout loss to McGregor. This fight, which took place at UFC 205 in November, saw Alvarez lose the lightweight title, in what was his first defence. Given that McGregor is still champion, a win here will not, in all likelihood earn Alvarez a rematch, but it will put him back in the win column, and more importantly, keeps him relevant.
As for Dustin “The Diamond”, he is coming off of the most impressive win of his career, a majority decision win over Jim Miller at an otherwise lacklustre UFC 208. He too has a loss at the hands of the champion McGregor, but since moving up to 155lbs following that fight, he has looked sublime for the most part, going 5-1.
Whilst it is difficult to see the divisional ramifications of this fight at this time, it joins an already stacked card in Dallas, Texas on May 13. Headlined by a heavyweight title fight between Stipe Miocic and Junior dos Santos, the fight will likely take place on a main card which also features a women’s strawweight title fight between Joanna Jedrzejczyk and Jessica Andrade.
UFC 211 Updated Card
UFC Heavyweight title: Stipe Miocic (c) vs. Junior Dos Santos
UFC Women’s Strawweight title: Joanna Jedrzejczyk (c) vs. Jessica Andrade
Welterweight: Demian Maia vs. Jorge Masvidal
Lightweight: Eddie Alvarez vs. Dustin Poirier
Featherweight: Enrique Barzola vs. Gabriel Benitez
Flyweight: Henry Cejudo vs. Sergio Pettis
