Eddie Alvarez and Gilbert Melendez to meet at UFC 188 co-main event in Mexico
Eddie Alvarez and Gilbert Melendez to meet at UFC 188 co-main event in Mexico
Dana White and the UFC front office are putting together a solid card so far for the fans on June 13th in Mexico City. Eddie Alvarez and Gilbert Melendez have been booked for the co-main event in a lightweight match up with major implications to move up the lightweight rankings. Alvarez (25-4, #10 ranked lightweight) and Melendez (22-4, #4 ranked lightweight) are both looking to bounce back from losses to Donald Cerrone and Anthony Pettis, respectively.
The fight between the top 10 lightweights also sparks interest as both Alvarez and Melendez were once lightweight champions outside of the UFC (Alvarez in Bellator, Melendez in Strikeforce). Melendez had the opportunity to capture UFC gold in his last fight, however fell short when lightweight champion Anthony Pettis was the first ever to submit the Caesar Gracie black belt.
UFC 188 will also feature a fight which was supposed to happen in Mexico back in November, when interim-heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum (19-5-1) and heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez (13-1) will meet in the main event of the evening. Velasquez makes his long awaited return after suffering an injury which took him out of action back in November. Mark Hunt would replace the injured champion Velasquez in an interim title fight, whom Werdum would defeat and become the interim champion.
Cathal Pendred (16-2-1) will also return into action and face Mexico’s Augusto Montano (15-1) in a welterweight showdown. A women’s match is also confirmed as Tecia Torres (5-0) and Angela Hill (2-0) put their undefeated records on the line in a strawweight bout.
