Court Denies Eddie Alvarez’s Request to Fight at UFC 159
By Chris Leslie on January 25, 2013
Embattled lightweight Eddie Alvarez saw his request for a preliminary injunction against Bellator in order to fight at UFC 159 denied today by a New Jersey court. The decision was a win for Bellator, as Alvarez will remain with the company for now. However, this also means that litigation will continue if Alvarez decides to continue with his case.
Alvarez had asked the court to issue an injunction after alleging that not fighting on April 27 would do irreparable harm to him. US District Court Judge Jose L. Linares ruled that Bellator was neither illegally preventing him from fighting nor was there any indication that not fighting at UFC 159 would cause undue harm to the fighter. Judge Linares stated that Alvarez’s case for a preliminary injunction asked for too much speculation from the court.
While the Judge did not rule in favor of Alvarez’s injunction, he also left the door open for further argument about the longterm future of Alvarez. Judge Linares stated that while the value of Bellator’s Spike TV deal and the UFC’s Fox Network deal are valid argument points in terms of matching contracts, that the court could not rule on them at this time.
This was a short-term victory for Bellator, however much will rest on whether or not Alvarez will want to pursue further litigation which could go on for a longtime. Alvarez could not be reached for comment following the decision.
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I look at it this way ….. if a guy doesnt want to be there and doesnt want to fight for you , let him go .. why have lawyers and legal troubles over someone who wants a new job ?
@DrDoom because it’s the same thing the UFC has done in this situation.
Because he signed a contract and it isn’t Bellator’s job to make him happy if it isn’t in their best interest?
If it is ruled he has to stay in Bellator, why would they let him go? If he refuses to fight, his career is over. If he doesn’t fight well or, god forbid, throws a fight…his career is over. Or, he can suck it up and wait for the UFC to make an offer Bellator can’t match. But to do that, he has to fight and he has to win.
The UFC did offer a contract that Bellator can’t match. The PPV clause puts the UFC ahead and it’s not even close. The only thing keeping Bellator in the conversation is semantics. Eventually Dana is going to take this personal (Like always) and he will write out a new contract that Bellator can’t hope to match, even in legal jargon.
Actually, the PPV part was matched, Bellator revealed that they have Michael Chandler onboard for a PPV show in March (the veracity of that claim is neither here nor there). Judge ruled today that the final values would have to be argued since Zuffa’s offer is so variable. By law, the contract was matched.
Also, any other offer the UFC makes at this point would be a counter-offer and would extend Bellator’s right to match.
Most UFC contracts are so incentive-laden that they’re actually very easy to match legally because you only have to match the guaranteed money. May seem like semantics, but in contract law, explicit meaning is everything.
Tomorrows Headlines: UFC BUYS BELLATOR!!!
Eddie should just fight for Bellator, and as soon as the opening bell rings, take that first leg kick or jab, and fall over. Fights done.
No, of course he shouldn’t do that, but they’re jerking him around and screwing with his life and career, it seems, just to stick it to the UFC. I mean, who WOULD want to work for people like that. Bjorn wants what Dana is and has, and its not gonna happen. So instead of doing all this, wasting all this time and money, piissing off Eddie out of spite; just develop new talent like the UFC does. GO to local shows and sign those people. This just seems a little ridiculous.
I don’t think Bjorn is doing this out of spite for the UFC, he’s doing it because Eddie is one of their biggest stars (if not their biggest) and knows that Alvarez can help build their brand. So of course he wants to keep him in Bellator.
The way I see it, Bellator is shooting themselves in the foot. While they are a great promotion, they are not the UFC and will never be the UFC. It is the dream of 99% of the fighters out there to fight in the UFC because they are the biggest stage in the world. So if you were an up and coming fighter and Bellator came knocking on your door before UFC, why in the world would you sign with Bellator. It’s putting a roadblock in front I your ultimate destination.
Not to mention that this helps Bellaor in future problems with potental stars moving over to the UFC. If Bellator wins the legal battle here, the UFC will have a much harder time if/when they decide to bring guys like Chndler or Askren over. Heck, it may have been me, but it seemed lke Askren was all but saying one day he hopes to go to the UFC and see if he’s the “best in the world” – I think he said something like he can’t prove it in Bellator but maybe one day he will show he’s best in the world (in an interview with Bass Rutten).
So there is more at stake than just Eddie.