As of today Bellator has two weeks to match the contract Eddie Alvarez signed with the UFC. If they choose not to match, Alvarez will move to the UFC. Same deal as with offer sheets in the NBA. Alvarez, 28, is 24-3 in MMA with notable wins over Hansen, Kawajiri, Neer, Curran, and Aoki. The former Bellator lightweight champion dropped his title to undefeated standout Michael Chandler in 2011. The Philadelphia native has been training with the Blackzillians in Boca Raton, Florida. Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney says that the contract Alvarez has signed is one that Bellator has the capacity to match, meaning that they want people to know they have game but will probably let him go.
Re: Eddie Alvarez receives offer from UFC, Bellator given time to match or pass Dana White says that negotiations are going to "get ugly" suggesting that Bellator will match and Alvarez may sue to break the contract.
Re: Eddie Alvarez update: Bellator matches UFC's offer MMA Junkie is reporting that Bellator have in fact matched the offer sheet Eddie Alvarez signed with the UFC. Bellator retains him for the time being. I'm sure the UFC is looking at legal angles to get him.
Re: Eddie Alvarez update: Bellator matches UFC's offer Bellator has sued Eddie Alvarez. Bellator believe they matched the deal the UFC offered, as is their contractual right, but with the UFC's ability to add PPV points and whatnot, the Alvarez camp sees a wide gap between the two offers. http://www.bloodyelbow.com/2013/1/7...or-after-they-tried-to-match-ufc-contract-mma
Re: Update: Bellator matches offer for Eddie Alvarez, then sues him To clarify: Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney claims that they took the PDF contract that Alvarez signed for the UFC, changed "UFC" to "Bellator", and resubmitted it to him. Alvarez didn't sign it, so they are suing him. The sticking point is that the UFC is offering Alvarez PPV cuts for future main events while Bellator is essentially saying they'll do the same thing but they aren't on PPV (could be in the future). While the UFC's PPV cut offer is circumstantial and not written in stone, Bellator's is much flimsier without ever having done a PPV. Rebney says they don't have to match "potential" earnings, just concrete ones.
Re: Update: Bellator matches offer for Eddie Alvarez, then sues him http://www.mmajunkie.com/news/2013/...ncludes-immediate-title-shot-pay-per-view-cut
This is what the big boys are getting for PPV's, the GSP's and Anderson Silva's. To put it into perspective, a PPV that sells 750k buys, which is a lot, nets a fighter with the above contract provision $200,000 + $400,000 + $375,000 = $975,000. Champions on their third or fourth contracts probably get double that or more. This is on top of everything else.
