A lightweight division contest and battle of the UFC Ultimate Fighter 26 coaches has been added to UFC 218 as #3 Eddie Alvarez is in action against #5 Justin Gaethje.
Farah Hannoun first reported the bout through Twitter:
Coach @MarkCoachmark13 confirms @CTaylor_96's report that @Ealvarezfight vs. @Justin_Gaethje will take place at #UFC218 (December 2nd) #UFC pic.twitter.com/furd2d5Gyi
— Farah Hannoun (@Farah_Hannoun) October 4, 2017
Alvarez (28-5-0-1NC) hasn’t seen much luck in his last two bouts, losing the UFC Lightweight Title to Conor McGregor at UFC 205 and fighting Dustin Poirier to a no contest at UFC 211. Alvarez won the UFC Lightweight Title when he defeated Rafael Dos Anjos by first round TKO at UFC Fight Night 90. Alvarez is also a former two time Bellator MMA Lightweight Champion, defeating Toby Imada and Michael Chandler to begin both reigns.
Gaethje (18-0-0) has only competed once thus far under the UFC banner, defeating Michael Johnson at the UFC Ultimate Fighter 25 Finale. Gaethje was the first and only World Series Of Fighting Lightweight Champion, defeating Richard Patishnock at the WSOF 8 to start his reign. Gaethje has only seen just one of his professional MMA fights go the distance and that came against Marcus Edwards at Ring Of Fire 43 in June of 2012.
UFC 218 takes place on Saturday, December 2 from the Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Michigan with Max Holloway and Frankie Edgar headlining. Fightful is providing live coverage of the event, with a post-show podcast to follow.
