UFC lightweight Joel Alvarez will not be competing at the upcoming UFC 315 event.
“El Fenomeno” announced on Sunday via his Instagram account that a hand injury has forced him to withdraw from his planned lightweight bout against Benoit Saint Denis. This fight was scheduled to take place this Saturday at the Bell Centre in Montreal.
According to Alvarez`s statement, the hand injury is expected to prevent him from training for approximately three weeks. He did not provide a specific timeframe for when he anticipates returning to active competition.
The status of Benoit Saint Denis`s fight for UFC 315 is currently uncertain. It remains unknown whether his matchup with Alvarez will be rescheduled for a later date, if he will face a different opponent this Saturday, or if both fighters will be booked for separate future events.
Alvarez holds a professional record of 22 wins and 3 losses. He is currently riding a three-fight winning streak and has secured victories in seven of his last eight appearances. Notably, all 22 of his professional wins have come by way of either knockout or submission.
Benoit Saint Denis also boasts a impressive finishing rate, with 13 finishes in his 13 professional victories (13-3-1, 1 NC). However, the French fighter is looking to rebound after suffering consecutive losses to Renato Moicano and Dustin Poirier in his most recent outings.
UFC 315 is scheduled to proceed with a card featuring two championship fights headlining the event: Belal Muhammad is set to defend the welterweight title against Jack Della Maddalena in the main event, while Valentina Shevchenko will defend her flyweight championship against Manon Fiorot in the co-main event.
Marcus Blakely