Eddie Alvarez will have to go through tournament for rematch

When the mostly unknown Michael Chandler choked out Bellator’s most popular fighter, Eddie Alvarez, in the fourth round of their Nov. 19 bout in Hollywood, Fla., ending the latter’s 29-month lightweight title reign, the normal MMA protocol would be to build for a rematch.

Not only is Chandler-Alvarez 2 the fight that would have the most fan interest of any two fighters on the company roster, but it would be a rematch of one of the best fights in company history. The two superbly conditioned fighters went nonstop, up and down, trading hard shots, before Chandler sealed the deal and put an exclamation point on the company’s most recent 12-week season.

But because of Bellator’s matchmaking structure, where someone only can get a title shot after winning an eight-man, three-month tournament, the rematch won’t be made anytime soon, and certainly not in time for the next season in February.

Yahoo