Sam Alvey defends middleweight belt vs. Wes Swofford at MFC 40

Sam Alvey finally has his opponent for his first Maximum Fighting Championship title defense.

Alvey (21-5), the promotion’s middleweight champion, will put his belt on the line this spring against Wes Swofford (9-4) at “MFC 40: Crowned Kings.” Promotion officials recently announced the title fight.

MFC 40 takes place May 9 at the promotion’s regular home at Shaw Conference Centre in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The main card will air live on AXS TV.

The card also features a bantamweight title fight between champ Anthony Birchak (11-1) and Kevin Croom (13-4) and a rematch between Tom Gallicchio (18-8) and Kurt Southern (13-5) for the vacant lightweight belt. The bout order will again be determined by a fan vote. Fans can vote for their top matchup for the main event with the #PunchTheVote hashtag on social media.

Alvey, a Bellator veteran, has won back-to-back MFC fights since losing his promotional debut to Elvis Mutapcic at MFC 36. This past May, he stopped Jay Silva with punches in the third round. And Jason South at MFC 38, he picked up a fifth-round TKO to win the middleweight belt with just four seconds left in the fight. The Wisconsin native trains at the famed Team Quest in California.

Swofford will be fighting for the second time under the MFC banner. A little more than a year ago, he stopped Jay Silva in just 41 seconds with a TKO at MFC 36. After a loss to UFC vet Tomasz Drwal this past April, he beat Tramain Smith in November and has won two of his past three fights. All nine of Swofford’s wins have come by stoppage, including five in the first round.

“Alvey and Swofford match up so well stylistically that they’re going to create an incredible fight,” MFC President Mark Pavelich stated. “It has all the makings of being the wildest, craziest title fight in MFC history. Sam has shown great resiliency and the ability to battle through a war. Wes is a very serious threat to Sam’s title and he is ready to put everything he’s got on the line to take his belt away.”

With the official addition, the MFC 40 card now includes:

• Sam Alvey vs. Wes Swofford – for middleweight title
• Anthony Birchak vs Kevin Croom – for bantamweight title
• Tom Gallicchio vs. Kurt Southern – for vacant lightweight title
• Sean O’Connell vs. Victor Valimaki
• Andrew McInnes vs. Jonatas Novaes
• Marcus Edwards vs. Aaron Gallant

For the latest on MFC 40, stay tuned to the MMA Rumors section of the site.

(Pictured: Sam Alvey)