EliteXC has agreed to allow Eddie Alvarez to compete in the DREAM lightweight grand prix that is being held in Japan on March 15, according to FiveOuncesOfPain.com.
Alvarez -- who has one fight to his credit under the EliteXC banner and is one of its brightest young talents -- will take on Andre "Dida" Amade (6-2-1) in the first round of the tournament.
Dida is a Chute Box fighter from Brazil who had a seven-fight unbeaten streak before losing to JZ Calvancante in the final of K-1 Hero's Tournament last September.
Here's a snip from Alvarez confirming the fight:
"The fight is 100 percent, I just got a call from my manager, Monte Cox, everything is underway. Everything is approved and I will be heading over there (Japan) on the 10th to fight in the lightweight Grand Prix. I'm excited."
This is a win win situation for the two promotions.
EliteXC develops a solid relationship with the new Japanese organization, which has been informally dubbed Pride 2.0, and gets a ton of exposure for its up-and-coming fighter that could pay off down the road.
And DREAM, of course, gets another very good fighter for its already stacked tournament.
Here's what Alvarez said about the two companies sharing his services:
"EliteXC was happy to work with DREAM. I'm sure they want to do business with them in the future so I'm sure they are more than happy to lend me over and let me do the fight."
This is a huge opportunity for Alvarez to prove himself among some of the elite lightweights in the world. Just check out some of the top-level talent already booked to compete in the grand prix:
- JZ Calvancante
- Shinya Aoki
- Tatsuya Kawajiri
- Kultar "Black Mamba" Gill
- Kazuyuki Miyata
- Luis Buscape
- Koutetsu Boku
- Joachim Hansen
- Mitsuhiro Ishida
- Caol Uno
- Gilbert Melendez
- Artur Oumakhanov
- Jung Bukyung
It's a tough first round match up for Alvarez, but one he can win. If he can score a big knockout and gain some momentum in this first round fight, he might be a dark horse in this thing.
For more details on DREAM and the upcoming lightweight tournament click here.
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