Alvarez Injured; Chandler’s Bellator 54 Title Shot Postponed

Alvarez (Pictured) was slated to put his belt on the line against the Season 4 lightweight tournament winner at Bellator 54 in New Jersey, but the title contest will now be rescheduled.

“Eddie suffered an injury that will keep him out of our Oct. 15 show at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City,” said Bellator Chairman and CEO Bjorn Rebney in the official release. “Eddie Alvarez has a huge heart and if there was any way for him to fight on [Oct. 15], I know he would. Ed’s in spectacular condition, so both of us are hopeful that this fight can potentially still occur later this fall.”

Despite losing its main event, Bellator 54 is still expected to feature the semifinals of the promotion’s fifth-season middleweight tournament, as well as a non-title bantamweight clash between Bellator 135-pound king Zach Makovsky and onetime UFC competitor Ryan Roberts.

Widely regarded as one of the world’s top 155-pounders, Alvarez has not lost since falling to Dream champion Shinya Aoki via submission in 2008. The 27-year-old Philadelphia Fight Factory product has been perfect through his Bellator career thus far, posting an unblemished 6-0 record. Alvarez was last seen defending his title for the first time at Bellator 39 in April, successfully outpointing second-season tournament winner Pat Curran in a five-round affair.

Known for his raw power and wrestling ability, Chandler, 25, overcame a scare in the quarterfinals to capture the Bellator Season 4 lightweight tournament crown. The undefeated 25-year-old bested Marcin Held, Lloyd Woodard and Patricky Freire in a two-month span to become Alvarez’s next challenger. The Xtreme Couture fighter most recently outpointed the elder “Pitbull” brother at Bellator 44 in May, using his wrestling to control Freire en route to a unanimous nod and a guaranteed title shot.