Josh Neer to Face Bellator FC Champion Eddie Alvarez

The Junkie reports that Bellator FC champion and top Dream lightweight Eddie Alvarez will be matched with feisty scrappy Josh Neer in a Bellator event that will take place sometime in May.  The bout is set for a catchweight of 160 pounds.

As the Bellator FC promotion gears up for another year of events featuring the tournament format, they plan to pit their current champions against worthy, name opponents both under and outside the Bellator banner.  After tearing through the organization's lightweight tournament last year with three consecutive submission victories, Alvarez was shipped back across the pond with the blessing of Bellator to fight soaring DEEP lightweight champion Katsunori Kikuno at DREAM 12, which was the Japanese stronghold's first trial application of a cage instead of a ring.

Although the unique and dynamic Kikuno had a strong showing against Alvarez, the enthusiastic resilience and steep punching power of Alvarez proved to be too much, and Alvarez captured his fourth consecutive submission victory in the 2nd round after persevering an early onslaught and battering Kikuno with his fierce boxing. 

The only flaws on Alvarez' increasingly impressive record are a TKO loss to Thompson, a fighter who has competed as high as 185 pounds, in a 2007 Bodog event, and a heel hook courtesy of Shinya Aoki in K-1.

It seems like just yesterday that veteran Josh "The Dentist" Neer was released from the UFC for the second time after a career resurgence in the lightweight division, but after soundly losing competitive, back-to-back decisions against Gleison Tibau and Kurt Pellegrino, Neer has already added two wins outside the octagon to his extensive 27-9-1 record .

Neer embodies the toughest type of fighter that one might encounter beyond the elite glow of the UFC's bright lights; especially since the Miletich product has focused on the lightweight division, where his height and long reach only make his sharp boxing more formidable to deal with.  There is not an ounce of shame in any of Neer's UFC defeats, which include both of the Diaz brothers, Josh Burkman, and Drew Fickett, along with the aforementioned Tibau and Pellegrino.

Neer was able to accumulate a solid set of wins over Din Thomas, Joe Stevenson, Melvin Guillard, and Mac Danzig during his multiple stints in the UFC.

"The Dentist" has also steadily enhanced the tenacity and effectiveness of his Jiu-Jitsu game, and I think this factor along with his proficient hand skills and busy ground game will present a rather intriguing and legitimate challenge for Alvarez.