Jon Fitch Will Rematch Thiago Alves at UFC 111

I wasn't able to squeeze this in last week with all the Dynamite!! and UFC 108 hoopla, but a rematch is expected between standout contenders Jon Fitch and Thiago Alves for UFC 111 in New Jersey on March 27th.

This rematch is long overdue.  Jon Fitch and Thiago Alves have clearly established themselves as the most elite behind GSP:  Fitch has throttled everyone else in the division besides the champ; Alves has done the same to all but GSP and Fitch, although he does also have a submission loss to Spencer Fisher in his first UFC fight. 

With Koscheck clearly assuming the third spot on the contender ladder, the Fitch/Alves realignment makes even more sense considering the impossibility of pairing AKA teammates Fitch and Koscheck versus one another, which Dana White has said he's attempted to do.  This fight was already in the works after Ricardo Almeida was forced to withdraw from a fight with Fitch in his welterweight debut, but then Alves also pulled out after suffering a knee injury.

Fitch was handling Alves pretty well in their first encounter, and after controlling Thiago on the ground and threatening with a few submissions, Fitch was able to time an upkick just as Thiago was dropping a big right hand that stunned the ATT fighter, and Fitch wasted no time in jumping on him for the 2nd round finish.

The rumored card for UFC 111 in Newark, New Jersey on March 27th includes:

GSP x Dan Hardy for the UFC 170 pound championship

Frank Mir x Shane Carwin for the UFC interim heavyweight championship

Jon Fitch x Thiago Alves

Phil Baroni x Marcus Davis