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[The Sword]

"The long-expected non-title fight between Bellator lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez (19-2 MMA, 3-0 BFC) and UFC veteran/recent signee Josh Neer (27-9-1 MMA, 0-0 BFC) now has a date.

While a guest on today's edition of MMAjunkie.com Radio (MMAjunkie.com Radio | MMAjunkie.com), Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney said the fight takes place May 6 at Bellator 17.

Bellator announced last month that the fight was being targeted for a May card, though an exact date wasn't mentioned. It's now set for the Citi Performing Arts Center Wang Theatre in Boston, which is a half day's drive from Alvarez's Philadelphia home.

As with all the organization's shows, Bellator 17 airs live on FOX Sports Net, and highlights packages air the following weekend on NBC and Telemundo.

Alvarez won his title by winning Bellator's season-one lightweight tournament. He and Bellator's other three champs are being booked for season-two non-title "super fights" while No. 1 contenders are determined by this year's tourneys.

Rebney said matchmaker Sam Caplan approached him about the Alvarez vs. Neer fight and that he instantly knew it was a matchip he wanted to book.

"As a fan, that's just the type of fight I wanted to see," he said.

As MMAjunkie.com reported last month, the fight is expected to take place at a catch-weight of 160 pounds.

Alvarez currently is riding a four-fight win streak – a run that includes the champion's three submission wins in Bellator's debut tournament over Greg Loughran, Eric Reynolds and Toby Imada. The 26-year-old looks to keep the momentum going as he bounces back from minor arthroscopic knee surgery he underwent in January following a DREAM.12 win over Katsunori Kikuno.

Neer comes to Bellator with a two-fight win streak. The longtime UFC fighter surprisingly was dropped by the UFC in 2009 after back-to-back decision losses to Kurt Pellegrino and Gleison Tibau. However, he's since rebounded for first-round stoppage wins over Matt Delanoit and Anselmo Martinez (which won him the Shark Fights welterweight title) in outside promotions.

For more on Bellator 17, stay tuned to the MMA Rumors section of MMAjunkie.com."


Bellator CEO says Eddie Alvarez vs. Josh Neer "super fight" set for Bellator 17 | MMAjunkie.com
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I cant wait this is going to be a good fight.

[The Sword]

so If neer pulls it out where dose that put him in the rankings?

[KevoOnTheRadio]

Hard to say, it's a catch weight fight. It'll defiantly look good, thats for sure.

[Fedorlei Gomipierre]

While I really like Neer, he's in deep water against Alvarez, whose spent a career fighting at much higher weights and is on a pretty slick roll as of late. Neer's a well rounded fighter, but Alvarez has some very special standup which will really give Neer a headache and I think if Neer gets baited into trading, he's going to sleep. I don't see Neer getting too high in the LW rankings anytime soon.

[The Sword]

Originally Posted by Fedorlei Gomipierre

While I really like Neer, he's in deep water against Alvarez, whose spent a career fighting at much higher weights and is on a pretty slick roll as of late. Neer's a well rounded fighter, but Alvarez has some very special standup which will really give Neer a headache and I think if Neer gets baited into trading, he's going to sleep. I don't see Neer getting too high in the LW rankings anytime soon.

^^100% agree still hope neer pulls it out