Monday, March 30, 2009

UFC 101 in Philadelphia to Not Be Headlined By Eddie Alvarez

The juggernaut that is the UFC will be coming to Philadelphia for UFC 101, and the organization is pulling out all the stops for its first event in the "City of Brotherly Love" by reportedly not having Philadelphia-based superstar Eddie Alvarez headline the show. Slated for August 8th at the Wachovia Center, UFC 101 will see non-Philadelphia native BJ Penn taking on another non-Philly fighter in Kenny Florian, while non-Philadelphia resident Forrest Griffin squares up against someone who probably couldn't even find Philadelphia on the map in Thiago Silva. Meanwhile, top-ten lightweight and local hero Alvarez still is not headlining the event (much less in the show). Said a spokesman for the organization, "We're very excited to be coming to Philadelphia - a place rich in pugilistic history and tradition - and what better way to celebrate our arrival than by not having the most successful Philadelphia-based fighter of all time on the card?"

5 comments:

Get a Clue said...

Eddie Alvarez headlining UFC 101 would make PERFECT sense.

After all, he didn't just sign an exclusive contract with Bellator, right?

And he IS on the UFC roster, right? And he IS the #1 contender for BJ's belt, isn't he?

Oh wait a minute...

With that reasoning, I guess Triple H should be headlining the UFC's first event in Greenwich, CT.

Because as you implied, contracts mean absolutely nothing in MMA. According to you, fighters don't even have to be on the UFC roster to headline cards in their hometowns.

Nice post. Fail.

Jim Genia said...

Hi Dana!

Anonymous said...

I was about to start following this blog until I read this post. The original commentator had the right point in that Alvaez is already signed to fight for Bellartor and if I;m not mistaken is still signed with Dream. Even if he hadn't signed with Bellator he still would not have been able to fight for Zuffa while fulfilling his previously signed contract with Dream (and I am pretty sure he still has a few fights left there).

As anwone who pays attention knows, Zuffa will only sign exclusive contracts which would not apply to Alvez. This is exactly why this little piece is stupid and serves more to confuse new fans than educate them.

Of course you could have some inside info on Alvez and perhaps are campaigning for him as a friend, but I doubt either. So you just lost a potential reader. And if you think I'm also Dana, check my IP and you'll see I'm not. Unless DW is for some reason in Toronto to catch opening day at the Sky Dome. But I highly doubt that.

Jim Genia said...

Hi Joe Silva!

Anonymous said...

In related news...

The juggernaut that is the UFC will be coming to Liverpool, England for UFC 103, and the organization is pulling out all the stops by reportedly not having Liverpool-based superstar David Beckham headline the show.

UFC 103 will see non-Liverpool native Anderson Silva taking on another non-Liverpool fighter in Keith Jardine, while non-Liverpool resident Efrain Escudero squares up against someone who probably couldn't even find Liverpool on the map in Cole Miller.

What is this sport coming to???