BE’s Baddest Greatest Lightweight: #3 Eddie Alvarez vs. #6 Tatsuya Kawajiri

It’s rare that a #1 vs. #8 battle provides any drama, and our latest match-up followed that pattern. Top seeded Ben Henderson easily dispatched Thugjitsu master #8 Yves Edwards to advance to the Sweet 16 with a score of 43-4. He awaits either Kenny Florian or Joachim Hansen now. Tough break for Edwards, but at least it gave us an excuse to watch the Thomson KO again (and again, and again).

Today, we launch into the 2nd half of the opening round with the first part of our post-UFC 211 double-header. This time, it’s #3 Eddie Alvarez in action. His fight Saturday night with Dustin Poirier was a classic Alvarez war marred by a non-finish - let’s see if that impacts anything here. He takes on #6 Tatsuya Kawajiri. This is one of the fights that has actually happened in real life, with Alvarez earning a TKO over Crusher in 2008. Revenge for the Japanese legend, or another victory for the Underground King? Your call.

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Tournament bracket (click to enlarge):

BE Baddest Lightweight Full Bracket

Tournament graphics provided by June M. Williams.