Bellator announces Eddie Alvarez vs. Josh Neer in non-title "Super Fight"

A month ago Bellator CEO, Bjorn Rebney, announced that all four champions would compete in "Super Fights" on FSN this May and June. Today Bellator announced the first "Super Fight" between lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez (19-2) and Josh Neer (27-9-1). The bout is scheduled for May and will be a non-title fight at a 160lbs. catch-weight.

It appears that the "Super Fights" are a way for Bellator to utilize their champions who otherwise would be sitting on their hands or fighting in other promotions while waiting for the winners of the season two tournaments.

WKR has heard some grumblings from MMA fans about the match-up but we aren't sure who else Bellator could plug in to fight Alvarez. WKR is really curious to see who Bellator can land for their other champions.

Press Release:

Bellator Fighting Championships announced today that its reigning lightweight champion, Eddie Alvarez, the No. 2-ranked lightweight in the world, will square off in a non-title "Super Fight" with UFC veteran Josh "The Dentist" Neer under the Bellator banner this May.

Full release below.

The fight is the first Super Fight matchup to be announced by Bellator, which is now gearing up for its much-anticipated nationally-televised second season. These non-tournament, non-title catch-weight fights will pit Bellator's Season 1 Champions - Alvarez, Joe Soto, Lyman Good and Hector Lombard - against top competition as they prepare to defend their titles from Bellator's Season 2 tournament winners this fall.

The Alvarez-Neer fight will take place during one of Bellator's May events and will be televised live on FOX Sports Net and during Bellator highlight shows on NBC and Telemundo. The exact date will be announced in the coming weeks.

Alvarez, the Philadelphia native and Fight Factory product, has driven his 19-2 professional record to the No. 2 ranking in the world at lightweight. He dominated Bellator's Season 1 tournament to take home the first-ever Bellator Lightweight Championship belt.

Neer, an Iowa native who is 27-9-1 over the course of his seven-year MMA career, is a three-time veteran of the UFC with signature wins over Melvin Guillard and TUF winners Joe Stevenson and Mac Danzig. Since his last UFC fight in October 2009, Neer is 2-0, with both wins coming via first-round stoppages.

"In addition to being one of the top lightweights on earth, Eddie's a blast to watch fight," said Bellator founder and CEO Bjorn Rebney. "Alvarez vs. Neer should produce fireworks from the start. Our hyper-competitive tournaments, May super-fights and September title-defense fights will all create some awesome nationally televised events."

Alvarez, who underwent minor arthroscopic knee surgery on Jan. 13th, said he is itching to make his return to the cage against Neer.

"I've seen Josh Neer fight, and he's a banger," Alvarez said. "I love this fight because he never puts on a dull fight and those are the kinds of matches that suit me the best. I expect my knee to be 100 percent soon and I'm expecting that this is going to be my best performance ever."

Neer said he also expects the fight to be an exciting one.

"This is definitely a tough fight because Alvarez is a really explosive fighter and one of the top two or three lightweights in the world," Neer said. "I think that if I beat him, it would be a huge win for me and would really help me increase my notoriety. It's a great opportunity."