Bellator Fighting Championships lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez and Josh Neer both made weight on Wednesday for their 160-pound non-title superfight, which will take place Thursday at the Wang Theatre in Boston.
Alvarez weighed 159.6 pounds, while Neer was 161 pounds.
The 26-year-old Alvarez was crowned the promotion’s lightweight champion with three tournament victories against Greg Loughran, Eric Reynolds and Toby Imada in 2009. Alvarez, a Dream grand prix semi-finalist in 2008, stopped Katsunori Kikuno with an arm-triangle choke at Dream 12 last October.
Neer dropped a unanimous decision to Gleison Tibau at UFC 104 last October, but rebounded with back-to-back first-round wins over Matt Delanoit and Anselmo Martinez in early 2010.
In other Bellator 17 action on Thursday, former UFC star Roger Huerta (155.6) will face Pat Curran (155.4) and Toby Imada (154.8) will meet Carey Vanier (154.6) in semifinal bouts for the promotion’s lightweight tournament. The tournament winner will face Alvarez at a later date.
Bellator 17 Official Weights:
Eddie Alvarez (159.6) vs. Josh Neer (161)
Lightweight Tournament Semifinals:
Roger Huerta (155.6) vs. Pat Curran (155.4)
Carey Vanier (154.6) vs. Toby Imada (154.8)
Local Feature Bouts:
Pat Bennett (243.2) vs. Cole Konrad (266)
John Doyle (188.4) vs. Greg Rebello (187.2)*
Lance Everson (187) vs. Justin Torrey (182.8)**
Josh LaBerge (145.4) vs. Dan Bonnell (145.8)
Damian Vitale (169.4) vs. Chuck O'Neil (171.6)***
*will compete at 188-pound catch-weight bout
**will compete at 187-pound catch-weight bout
***will compete at 172-pound catch-weight bout
