It has been a crazy week or so for former Bellator lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez. We reported last week that Alvarez had received an offer from the UFC and that Bellator had matched the offer.

However, Alvarez was pretty vocal about how he felt regarding the two offers on Ariel Helwani’s “The MMA Hour” on Monday. He clearly feels as though the UFC has offered a better deal. MMAJunkie.com reported details from the UFC”s offer to Alvarez which you can find below:

An eight-fight deal would start Alvarez at $70,000 to show and $70,000 to win and raises in $5,000 increments with each win until it tops out at a guaranteed $210,000 for a win, the exhibit states. Alvarez would also be guaranteed a $250,000 signing bonus, payable in two installments of $85,000 and one of $80,000.

When Alvarez fights on a UFC PPV broadcast, the offer states it entitles him to $1 for each “buy” between 200,000 and 400,000 buys, $2 per buy between 400,000 and 600,000 buys, and $2.50 per buy over 600,000 buys.

Additionally, Alvarez is guaranteed a fight on a UFC on FOX card and three appearances as a commentator at UFC-branded events.

That offer dwarfs what Ben Henderson shared what he was getting paid as the UFC lightweight champion on Twitter:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

MMAJunkie later reported that the offer to Alvarez also included an IMMEDIATE title shot upon his arrival in the UFC. It’s difficult to gauge Henderson’s exact feelings regarding the contract offer to Alvarez. We do not know if Henderson receives a PPV % as part of his contract as he only indicated that he makes 39K per fight. Nevertheless, he can’t be too happy that a guy who isn’t even the Bellator lightweight champion is reportedly getting offered this type of money. Henderson has already fought on two UFC on FOX cards, and has served as commentator on UFC programming that has aired on FUEL TV. So he IS getting some of the perks that are in this reported contract offer.

Alvarez has been on the scene and thought of as a consensus top ten lightweight and even top five lightweight for years dating back to 2008-2009. Henderson has made his ascension in the discussion in the last 18 months or so but is widely considered the number one lightweight fighter in the world at the moment.

If Alvarez were to make the transition to the UFC right now he would face UFC lightweight champion Ben Henderson according to the reported UFC offer. I’m sure Henderson would use it as an opportunity to make a statement about his value as a fighter to the UFC if these numbers are correct.

It looks as though the Alvarez situation between Bellator and the UFC could drag on for quite some time, and it’s possible that Alvarez may never step inside the octagon. Until the opportunity comes, Henderson will have to continue knocking down opponent after opponent until he feels as though he’s getting paid what he deserves as the number one lightweight in the world.

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