The rumor will has been running wild with speculation of Eddie Alvarez making the jump over to the UFC’s 155-pound class but it seems they have been silenced, for now at least.
Alvarez has agreed to meet with Japanese submission guru Shinya Aoki at Bellator 66 in April.
Aoki and Alvarez first met two-and-a-half years ago for the inaugural WAMMA lightweight title at Dynamite!! 2008 and took 92 seconds for Aoki to submit the Philadelphia native with a heel-hook.
Aoki has gone 11-2 since their encounter adding quality fighters in Vitor Ribiero, Tatsuya Kawajiri, Joachim Hansen & Lyle Beerbohm to his resume.
Alvarez was the first Bellator lightweight champion, running through an eight-man field to get it and defended it on one occasion against Pat Curran before running into world-class wrestler Michael Chandler in his second defense, losing his title in a fight of the year contender.
Word around the campfire is this will be the final contractually obligated fight for Alvarez and could be the final time we see him in the Bellator cage for a while, especially since he declined a spot in the upcoming lightweight tournament.
