Former UFC champ Benson Henderson meets Eddie Alvarez in Boston co-main event
The FOX Sports 1 card in Boston is still getting a pretty darn good co-main event.
Former UFC lightweight champion Benson Henderson will meet Eddie Alvarez at UFC Fight Night on Jan. 18 from the TD Garden in Beantown, the UFC announced Wednesday. Both men are two of the top 155-pounders in the world. The previous Boston co-main, Donald Cerrone vs. Myles Jury, will now be the co-main event of UFC 182 on Jan. 3 in Las Vegas.
Henderson (21-4) held the UFC lightweight belt for more than a year before losing it in 2013 to Anthony Pettis. Since then, "Smooth" has won two of three fights, but is coming off a loss to Rafael dos Anjos in August. Henderson, 30, owns significant wins over the likes of Frankie Edgar (twice), Nate Diaz, Josh Thomson and Donald Cerrone (twice). This could be his last fight at 155 -- Henderson has said he could move up to welterweight next year. Right now, he's still ranked No. 5 among UFC lightweight contenders.
Alvarez (25-4) has been one of the best lightweights in the world for a long time, but only made his UFC debut last month at UFC 178. The former Bellator MMA 155-pound champ fell in a tough unanimous decision to Donald Cerrone on that card. Alvarez, 30, has beaten the likes of Shinya Aoki, Michael Chandler, Pat Curran and Roger Huerta. He is ranked No. 10 among UFC lightweight contenders currently.
UFC Fight Night on FOX Sports 1 is headlined by a featherweight contender bout between Conor McGregor and Dennis Siver. The card will air after the NFC Championship game on FOX.
