There was so much MMA action from this past weekend that I am still catching up. The problem though is that this sport never stops. There really is little time to play catchup because each day brings a whole new list of to-dos.

I was able to watch Eddie Alvarez vs. Andre Dida from DREAM.1, Phil Baroni vs. Kala Kolohe Hose at ICON Sport, and Jake Rosholt vs. Chad Jay from the Xtreme Fighting League.

I'll start with Alvarez vs. Dida. I felt it was a great match and I was really impressed with Alvarez's performance. It was kind of strange seeing Alvarez fight as such a light weight. I don't remember seeing him that small before but he looked good. Alvarez showed some very good wrestling skill in the fight and his takedowns were solid. He also showed a strong chin in that he took several big shots from Dida and was able to maintain.

It wasn't a flawless performance though as I felt he missed some opportunities to execute an armbar and a couple of rear naked chokes. Alvarez's punching was solid but not quite as accurate as it normally is. There really aren't many fighters with better technical boxing than Alvarez so I hold him to a different standard.

All in all though, it was a great lightweight debut for Alvarez and he definitely has a huge future at 155-160 lbs. It was a strong win against a a top guy in Dida.

As a welterweight, Alvarez was a guy just outside of the top ten. As a lightweight, he can easily emerge as a top five ranked fighter. If his submissions catch up to his wrestling and striking, he could be a guy that can pose a serious challenge for fighters such as Takanori Gomi, Gesias Calvancante, and B.J. Penn.

Baroni vs. Hose was very sloppy yet I still enjoyed it. While it wasn't the most technical of fights, it was good action. Baroni came out very strong and his strategy contradicted his statements early in the week. Baroni had said in interviews that he wanted to knock Hose out standing and that he had no intention of take him to the ground. He showed some of those wrestling skills we've heard so much about but the jiu-jitsu wasn't there.

Speaking of no jiu-jitsu, Hose missed a chance to hit a rolling armbar and a few rear nakeds. It seemed like Baroni was just waiting to be finished but Hose didn't have the technical ability on the ground to fully capitalize.

Standing, Hose looked real good but he was taken down too easily during the initial portion of the fight. The problem is that Hose is at his best when he fights on the inside. By closing the distance as much as he does, he sets himself up to be taken down. I had a chance to speak with Hose before the Jan. 25 ShoXC in Atlantic City and he talked about how he used to compete as a heavyweight. He mentioned that he lost about 80 pounds because he was tired of giving up so much reach but he's still finding himself with a reach disadvantage. I don't think he'll drop any further but I believe Hose's best competitive weight probably is welterweight.

Baroni clearly gassed and had his cardio been better, I think there could have been a different outcome. However, Hose was able to put Baroni in the end and looks ready for a shot at Robbie Lawler's EliteXC middleweight title.

Finally, we have Rosholt vs. Jay. Rosholt was dominant in the final two rounds of the fight. Jay took quite a beating but also tested Rosholt's chin a bit and the former three-time NCAA amateur wrestling champ passed it.

Rosholt looked very impressive in his first fight as a middleweight but still has some things to work out. While his 4-0 pro record is impressive, he has no amateur MMA fights under his belt so he still needs time to build up experience on the smaller shows. I'd say he should be ready to compete in a major national promotion within 2-3 fights but I'm sure there will be a push to have him move up sooner as a result of the strong amount of exposure he's been getting.

Rosholt is without question the top unsigned fighter to have never fought for a national promotion.

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Sam Caplan

Lead Writer/Editor - ProElite.com

SamCaplan.ProElite.com

Eddie Alvarez's second fight for EliteXC could take place on Saturday, April 26, in Honolulu, Hawaii, Brian Knapp of The Fight Network is reporting.

According to the report, Alvarez (12-1) is in talks to fight Hawaiian fighter "Iron" Mike Aina (8-6-1). An official statement by EliteXC has not been made.

Alvarez debuted for EliteXC during its ShoXC event last Friday in Atlantic City where he defeated Ross Ebanez, another Hawaiian, via TKO at 2:32 of round 2.

The former BodogFIGHT welterweight champion officially signed with EliteXC in January, but had been talks with the promotion since early-December. April's fight would be the second on his current three-fight deal.

The fight would also serve as Alvarez's first fight at 160 pounds.

Aina has not competed since fighting Nick Diaz during EliteXC's last show in Hawaii, which took place on September 15 at the Blaisdell Arena in Honolulu. During the fight, Aina dropped a controversial three-round split decision to Nick Diaz.

Aina had been slated to fight Paul Daley during the most recent ShoXC event but was pulled from the card in December after sustaining an injury while training. He was eventually replaced on the card by former UFC fighter Sammy Morgan.

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Sam Caplan

Lead Writer/Editor - ProElite.com

SamCaplan.ProElite.com

Eddie Alvarez is a man with a lot going on right now. He just signed a three-fight contract with EliteXC and is getting prepared to fight for the promotion's next ShoXC event on Jan. 25 in Atlantic City. Oh, and there's also the fact that he just recently experienced the birth of his second son. In spite all the chaos, I was still able to get an interview with Alvarez that's currently available on CBSSports.com.

It was a fun interview to do, as Alvarez was completely candid on numerous topics. He was especially outspoken about Nick Thompson, who defeated him last April for the BodogFIGHT welterweight title.

When Thompson's name came up, Alvarez was animated and outspoken. In his defense, I'm not sure if what he said was tongue in cheek or if he was dead serious:

Q: And Thompson has said publicly that he has one fight remaining on his current BodogFIGHT contract. If he was to sign with EliteXC or M-1 Global would you be open to a rematch at that point?

EA: In a second. I would do it in a second but they aren't going to sign Nick because he's not good looking enough. Nick doesn't understand. Yes, you can win fights but at the end of the day that dude is still too ugly to ever succeed in this sport.

Here's the deal; Nick is always going to be ugly. I can get better at fighting; he beat me fair and square. I can always get better at fighting. I can train and become a better fighter but he'll always be that ugly and he has to live with that and deal with that (laughs).

Alvarez signed with EliteXC after becoming unhappy with BodogFIGHT. He addresses why he became unhappy during the course of the interview. However, Alvarez still had one fight left on his Bodog contract at the time of his departure and I wanted to know how he was able to get out of his remaining commitment to the promotion:

Q: It has been reported that you had one fight left on your Bodog contract. How were you able to get around that?

EA: When I signed my agreement, I was the MFC (Mix-Fight Championship) welterweight champion, you have to remember that. I transferred over to Bodog; I had been MFC champion for a little while and then MFC combined with Bodog. So my contract was originally with the owners of MFC.

The owners of MFC owned my original contract. Bodog did not own my original contract so when Miguel had a falling out with Bodog and the owners of MFC had a falling out with Bodog, it wasn't hard to ask them to release me from my contract so I could do what was in my best interests. I think that if it was up to Bodog, honestly, they wouldn't have let me out of that one remaining fight.

For more, including Alvarez's reason for finally agreeing to drop from welterweight, his thoughts on a possible fight vs. Nick Diaz, and his thoughts on training with BodogFIGHT women's champ Tara LaRosa, just click here.

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Sam Caplan

Lead Writer/Editor - ProElite.com

SamCaplan.ProElite.com

ProElite.com (SamCaplan.ProElite.com) has learned that former BodogFIGHT welterweight champion Eddie Alvarez has signed a three fight contract with EliteXC.

The Philadelphia native will debut for the promotion on Jan. 25 at the Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City against Ross "Da Boss" Ebanez in a headlining match during the promotion's ShoXC card.

Despite a press release issued by EliteXC on Friday that advertised Alvarez for the ShoXC card in an non-televised match against Carlos Quinlon, a deal between the promotion and Alvarez was not finalized until over the weekend.

As a part his agreement with EliteXC, Alvarez will also be allowed to compete for the M-1 Global promotion.

Alvarez, 11-1, has competed as a welterweight for his entire 12-fight professional MMA career but will be competing in EliteXC's 160 lbs. division.

Alvarez was a much sought after free agent who BodogFIGHT had been attempting to re-sign. A source also indicated in December that Alvarez had received an offer from the WEC that would have potentially seen him debut for the promotion on Feb. 13 in a match against Dave Terrel. 

ProElite.com (SamCaplan.ProElite.com) has also learned of other changes to the ShoXC event scheduled for 1/25. A match between Yves Edwards and Kyle Bradley is no longer scheduled while an opponent for Paul Daley is also believed to have been finalized.

While Daley's opponent has not officially been named, rumors indicate that it could be Sammy Morgan, a veteran from the second season of The Ultimate Fighter reality show on Spike TV who lost in his most recent match to Cung Le this past November during a Strikeforce show in San Jose.

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Sam Caplan

Lead Writer/Editor - ProElite.com

SamCaplan.ProElite.com

BodogFIGHT welterweight champion Nick Thompson revealed on the Underground forum at MMA.tv that a rematch planned in February in Las Vegas against Eddie Alvarez is now off the table:

Alvarez told Bodog that his head wasn't in the right place and he wasn't going to fight. So he is out and I will be fighting John Troyer instead. Troyer is 7-0 and the Hook n' Shoot champ. Anyone know anything baout him other than that?

The two had originally been scheduled to rematch each other on Dec. 8. However, with little notice, BodogFIGHT moved the fight up to Nov. 24, giving Thompson little time to cut weight, a process made more difficult due to a shoulder injury.

In Alvarez's response on the UG, he gave no indication of his "head not being in the right place" in regard to a rematch with Thompson. It's a rematch he still covets, but frustrations with BodogFIGHT has caused him to look at other options.

According to Alvarez's response, he trained full-time two months for the Nov. 24 bout vs. Thompson. When it was canceled, he received no compensation. When the promotion tried to put the match together again for February, Alvarez asked for a third of his compensation up front out of concern that the match could be postponed again. Alvarez claimed his request was denied.

Alvarez would end his response by saying he has two offers on the table, one from EliteXC and M-1 Global, and that he's been offered some big-time fights:

I got 2 very lucrative offers from m1 and showtime, and even if im not fighting will give me what i need to get by, and ill be fighting at 160 or 155 in 2 promotions that have some of the top guyz at those weights. The Idea of fighting Nick again in the future is something I would like to do but right now Whats in my best interest is to do what im doing so it is what it is.Sry if I disappointed anyone who was looking foward to this rematch . But I promise MY fights lined up for 08 will be just as exciting if not better.

ProElite.com (SamCaplan.ProElite.com) can confirm that Alvarez at one point had been offered the main event slot for EliteXC's next ShoXC card on Jan. 25 in Atlantic City against Paul Daley, with a guaranteed lightweight title shot against K.J. Noons if he won. The slot against Daley is now expected to go to Mike Aina. 

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Sam Caplan

Lead Writer/Editor - ProElite.com

SamCaplan.ProElite.com