Eddie Alvarez vs. Dustin Poirier and two other matchups set for UFC 211 UFC officials announced three new matchups: lightweights Eddie Alvarez vs. Dustin Poirier, flyweights Henry Cejudo vs. Sergio Pettis and middleweights David Brach vs. Krzysztof Jotko have all been added to UFC 211. Alvarez (28-5) hasn’t competed since November where he lost his lightweight title to Conor McGregor at UFC 205. Prior to that, the former Bellator lightweight champion was on a three-fight win streak with wins over Gilbert Melendez, Anthony Pettis and Rafael dos Anjos. Poirier (21-5) has won four of his past five fights, including a majority decision victory over Jim Miller at UFC 208 earlier this year. Cejudo (10-2) is coming off a controversial split-decision loss to Joseph Benavidez at the TUF 24 Finale in December. The 30-year-old is coming off back-to-back losses for the first time in his career. Pettis (15-2) has won four straight fights including a unanimous-decision triumph over John Moraga this past January at UFC Fight Night 103. Branch (20-3) hasn’t lost since 2012 and returns to the UFC on a 10-fight win streak. He was a multi-division champion for WSOF, winning both the middleweight and light heavyweight titles. Jotko (19-1) heads into this matchup on a five-fight win streak, including a unanimous-decision victory over Thales Leites in his last fight. UFC 211 takes place May 13th at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, TX. Here’s an updated look at the card…. Stipe Miocic (c) vs. Junior Dos Santos – for heavyweight title Joanna Jedrzejczyk (c) vs. Jessica Andrade – for strawweight title Demian Maia vs. Jorge Masvidal Ben Rothwell vs. Fabricio Werdum Eddie Alvarez vs. Dustin Poirier Henry Cejudo vs. Sergio Pettis Enrique Barzola vs. Gabriel Benitez Jarjis Danho vs. Dmitry Poberezhets David Branch vs. Krzysztof Jotko Ben Rothwell off UFC 211, flagged by USADA for potential UFC anti-doping policy violation The UFC announced on Tuesday that heavyweight Ben Rothwell is facing a UFC anti-doping policy violation stemming from a February 6th sample. The 35-year-old was slated to face Fabricio Werdum at UFC 211, but now he is currently suspended pending the USADA investigation. No word on if the UFC will look for another opponent for Werdum. Rothwell’s management released the following statement to MMA Fighting: “With the recent news received from USADA, I would like to take this time to let everyone know I have been under the care of a physician and trying to overcome a medical illness.I would appreciate the chance to show that I have not cheated nor did I intend to cheat. Please hold your opinions of me until all the facts are out. I appreciate everyone’s support as I go through the process with USADA.”
