Since Mike Chandler and Eddie Alvarez are destined for a rematch on Nov. 2, take some time out of your day to watch their first fight on GRACIEMAG.com.

Bellator MMA and Eddie Alvarez have settled their legal dispute, and Alvarez will rematch Mike Chandler for the promotions 155-pound title on the Nov. 2 pay-per-view, promotion officials announced on Tuesday.

Chandler vs. Alvarez II will be the co-main event on the card, which takes place at the Long Beach Convention and Entertainment Center in Long Beach Calif.

“Without question, Chandler vs. Alvarez was the best MMA fight I’ve ever seen,” Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney said in a statement. “I’m excited to be able to deliver this rematch to MMA fans.  It’s been a long time coming and we’ve had to jump over a lot of hurdles to get this done, but from the day we announced our PPV I promised fans that this card was going to be the deepest we’ve ever done, and we are well on our way. This is just the start.”

Alvarez and Bellator were in the midst of a legal battle when the fighter fulfilled his Bellator contract then was offered a free-agent deal from Zuffa, the company that owns the UFC, to compete in the Octagon. Bellator had matching rights and claimed they matched the offer given by Zuffa brass, which reportedly included a percentage of pay-per-view earnings.

The addition of Alvarez to the Nov. 2 Bellator card marks the end of a long battle, which has kept the fighter out of action since October 2012. Alvarez has since done numerous interviews in which he claimed financial struggles from not being able to fight.

With the Chandler rematch now being official, Avalrez will get his payday.

“I still lose sleep over my loss to Chandler, and I want it off my record,” Alvarez said. “This was a long process, but at the end of the day I’m back with Bellator and I’m happy to get back in the cage. I really believe everything happens for a reason, and at the end of the day my family and I are happy, and I’m ready to get my belt back on Nov. 2.”

The Bellator pay-per-view card is headlined by a light heavyweight match between veterans Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and Tito Ortiz.

Michael Chandler successfully defended his Bellator lightweight title last night at Bellator 97 with a knockout of David Rickels at the Santa Ana Star Center in Rio Rancho, New Mexico. Also, welterweight champ Ben Askren finished off Andrey Koreshkov in the their co-main event, while Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal pounded out Jacob Noe in the 205-pound tourney final.

Check out the video recap above and read the full results below.

Main Card:
Michael Chandler def. David Rickels by KO at 0:44, R1
Ben Askren def. Andrey Koreshkov by TKO (strikes) at 2:58, R4
Muhammed Lawal def. Jacob Noe by submission (strikes) at 2:51, R3
Vitaly Minakov def. Ryan Martinez by TKO (strikes) at 4:02, R3
Patricio Freire def. Jared Downing by TKO (strikes) at 0:54, R3

Prelims:
Bubba Jenkins def. Mike Barreras by TKO (strikes) at 1:05, R2
Anthony Leone def. Frank Baca by submission (rear-naked choke) at 1:07, R3
Rafael Silva def. Rodrigo Lima by Submission (rear-naked choke) at 2:03, R3
Will Brooks def. Cris Leyva by TKO (strikes) at 2:20, R3
Jeremy Kimball def. Keith Berry by KO at 1:45, R2
Shawn Bunch def. Russell Wilson by split decision
Donald Sanchez def. Cliff Wright by split decision
Adrian Cruz def. Felipe Chavez by TKO (strikes), R2
Javier Palacios def. Richard Jacques by unanimous decision

Pictured: Rick Hawn during medal ceremony at 2007 Olympics in Rio De Janeiro. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)

HTFU, the sponsor that Bellator’s Rick Hawn said canceled a check to him following his loss to Mike Chanlder last week at Bellator 85, has agreed to pay the fighter, according to reports on Tuesday.

Mark Gingrich, CEO and founder of HTFU, told MMAFighting.com that a new payment has been arranged for Hawn and sent to him today, Tuesday.

“A new check has been issued to Rick,” he said. “It has been mailed today.”

As reported by GRACIEMAG.com, Hawn took to his Twitter account to expose a message sent by HTFU — which wasn’t identified at the time — stating that the lifestyle brand took a chance on the fighter, but that he failed to perform in a way that would justify paying him for wearing the brand during the Bellator broadcast.

“I took a huge chance with him. TV exposure was great…but it only holds weight if he wins or puts on a good show. Neither happened,” Hawn posted, quoting the sponsor. “At the end of the day…not one sole (sp) will run to [my] store and buy product because they [saw my logo and saw] Rick loose (sp) the fight.”

Attempts to reach Gingrich and HTFU representatives by GRACIEMAG.com were unsuccessful at the time of this publication.

Hawn posted in his original message that a lawsuit is pending. There has been no indication if the suit has been dropped at this time.

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(Photo by Henry S. Dziekan III/Getty Images)

Following his loss to lightweight champion Mike Chandler last Thursday at Bellator 85, Rick Hawn said late Monday that a sponsor decided not to pay him because the fighter lost his last fight.

Hawn went to Twitter to expose a message from an unnamed sponsor, which said the exposure would only hold weight if the fighter won or performed well.

“At this point, a stop payment has been placed on check which cannot be cashed or deposited now,” Hawn posted, quoting the sponsor. “I will not comment on Rick and his fight. That is not my place. But what I will tell you is this: I took a huge chance with him. TV exposure was great…but it only holds weight if he wins or puts on a good show. Neither happened. At the end of the day…not one sole (sp) will run to [my] store and buy product because they [saw my logo and saw] Rick loose (sp) the fight. I’ve made it my career and business to know what nets a return on investment for the brand…and this is the number 1 reason why I DO NOT hand out money or product to fighters.”

According the lightweight, the sponsor is still placing images of him wearing the brand on their website.

Hawn added that a lawsuit is pending, and that more information will be revealed some time soon.

At Bellator 85, Hawn lost by rear-naked choke to the champion Chandler in the second round. The loss was second of his career out of 16 outings.

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Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney (left) stands with lightweight champion Mike Chandler (right). Photo by Erik Fontanez

IRVINE, Calif. — Mike Chander and Pat Curran successfully defended their Bellator championship belts at the company’s debut on Spike TV in Irvine, Calif., at UC Irvine’s Bren Center on Thursday night.

Chandler finished Rick Hawn in the second round by locking on a rear-naked choke at 3:07 of the frame, while Curran went the distance with Patricio “Pit Bull” Freire for a split decision win.

“It was a big night for us,” Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney said during the post-fight press conference. “Man, did [the fighters] deliver … All praise to you guys.”

Chandler looked dominant in his performance, establishing a takedown early in the fight and working actively in the guard to score points with strikes. The champ controlled Hawn for a majority of the opening frame and appeared to win the round.

The Alliance MMA lightweight continued his push in the second round, getting a slam of Hawn in the first 60 seconds on the way to sinking in the submission to finish the contest.

“It hasn’t really all sank in yet,” Chandler told GRACIEMAG.com of his win on Bellator’s first Spike TV broadcast. “I just want to keep getting better, [train] and see how good I can be.”

With the win, Chandler maintains his undefeated record at 11-0, while Hawn drops to 14-2.

Featherweight champion Pat Curran sits with his championship belt. Photo by Erik Fontanez

Curran, the featherweight title holder, and Pit Bull Freire opened the main card with the 145-pound title fight. Both fighters kept a conservative approach, measuring each other before deciding to engage with more offense in the latter stages of the contest.

The champion wasn’t really surprised, he said, that his opponent didn’t come out guns blazing. It’s a five-round fight and the fighters needed to pace themselves, he added.

“If he was going to come at me really hard, I was ready for it,” Curran said at the press conference. “I knew he had to pace himself because he has gotten tired in the past. I knew that was in the back of his head.”

The fighters went back and forth before the fight went to the final round, but it was Curran that landed enough strikes to bloody up Freire’s nose. The contest was scored 47-48, 48-27 and 48-47 in favor of the Curran.

With the win, Curran improves his overall record to 18-4, while Freire drops his tally to 17-2.

In addition to the title fights, Mikhail Zayats and Jacob Noe each scored first-round technical knockouts in their main card performances. Zayats topped MMA veteran Renato “Babalu” Sobral at 4:49 of the opening round, and Noe beat Seth Petruzelli at 2:51 of their first frame.

The Bellator 85 prelim results are as follows:

• Aaron Miller def. Joe Camacho via unanimous decision (30-27 x3)
• Jason Lambert def. Hector Ramirez via sub (inverted armbar) at 3:59, R1
• JJ Ambrose def. Brian Warren by sub (guillotine) at 0:50, R2
• Emanuel Newton def. Atanas Djambazov via sub (rear-naked choke) at 2:21, R2
• Savant Young def. Mike Guymon by KO (punch) 0:48, R2
• Joe Williams def. Jamie Yager via TKO (strikes on the ground) 4:02, R1 
• Cleber Luciano def. Mario Navarro by unanimous decision (30-27 x3)

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Bellator founder and CEO Bjorn Rebney (Photo by Henry S. Dziekan III/Getty Images)

Bellator Fighting Championships will make their 2013 debut on Spike TV on Thursday, Jan. 17, and the broadcast will feature two title fights, the company announced on Tuesday.

Lightweight champion Mike Chandler will defend his title against Season 6 tournament winner Rick Hawn, and Pat Curran will defend his featherweight belt against Patricio “Pitbull” Freire on the Spike TV debut. The event will take place at The University of California, Irvine’s Bren Center in Irvine, Calif.

The company also announced that their second broadcast will be Jan. 24, which will feature welterweight champion Ben Askren defending his title against Karl Amoussou. Former Strikeforce light heavyweight champ Muhammad “King Mo” Lawal will also be on the second event, but an opponent is yet to be determined. Lawal will have specials dedicated to him airing between the first and second Bellator broadcasts on the network.

Bellator will air events every Thursday for 12 straight weeks, officials said, and broadcasts will start at 10 p.m. ET. Viewers on the West Coast with a dish can watch the fights live at 7 p.m. PT, but cable subscribers will have to wait for a tape delay at 10 p.m. PT.

Five tournaments will take place during the upcoming season, including those in the 145-, 155-, 170-, 185- and 205-pound weight classes. Fighters such as Lawal, UFC veteran Renato “Babalu” Sobral and Seth Petruzelli will be in the 205-pound tournament, while Ben Saunders and Douglas Lima will be in the 170-pound bracket. Others will be added in the near future.

Bellator’s biggest competitor, the UFC, has long presented itself as a Pay-Per-View company. Bellator, however, has made their reputation through cable networks, most recently with MTV2 and next year with Spike — a network that used to host UFC Fight Night cards. When asked, company CEO Bjorn Rebney said there are no immediate plans for a Bellator Pay-Per-View.

Officials said the company is currently casting for its first fight-based reality show, but plans for its debut are still being worked out.

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