Alvarez, Curran Greenlit for Bellator 39

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A man hailed by many as the centerpiece of the Bellator Fighting Championships promotion will defend his crown in a matter of hours.

Lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez tipped the scales at 154 pounds for his title defense against Pat Curran (154) in the Bellator 39 headliner on Saturday at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. The four fighters slated to compete in tournament semifinal matchups -- welterweights Lyman Good (169.5) and Rick Hawn (170.5), along with lightweights Toby Imada (155) and Patricky “Pitbull” Freire (154.75) -- also met their contracted weights at Friday’s official weigh-in.

The world-ranked Alvarez will carry a six-fight winning streak into the match. The 26-year-old last appeared at Bellator 33 in October, when he stopped UFC veteran Roger Huerta on a second-round technical knockout at the Liacouras Center in his native Philadelphia. A potent and proven finisher, Alvarez has secured 19 of his 21 career victories by knockout, technical knockout or submission, 11 of them inside one round. He owns notable wins over reigning Deep lightweight champion Katsunori Kikuno, one-time Shooto welterweight king Tatsuya Kawajiri and former Dream lightweight titleholder Joachim Hansen.

Curran has not competed since Bellator 21 in June, when he defeated Toby Imada by split decision to win the promotion’s Season 2 lightweight tournament and, with it, a crack at Alvarez’s crown; a shoulder injury delayed his shot until now. A cousin of former WEC featherweight title contender Jeff Curran, the 23-year-old has rattled off four consecutive victories. In 16 professional appearances, he has been finished only once.

Bellator 39 -- which also features a welterweight duel pitting American Top Team’s Ben Saunders (174.75) against Matt Lee (174) -- will air on MTV2 at 9 p.m. ET/PT.

Bellator 39
Saturday, April 2
Mohegan Sun Arena
Uncasville, Conn.

BFC Lightweight Championship
Eddie Alvarez (154) vs. Pat Curran (154)

BFC Welterweight Tournament Semifinal
Rick Hawn (170.5) vs. Lyman Good (169.5)

BFC Lightweight Tournament Semifinal
Toby Imada (155) vs. Patricky “Pitbull” Freire (154.75)

Ben Saunders (174.75) vs. Matt Lee (174)
Dave Jansen (155.5) vs. Scott McAfee (155.75)
Luiz Azeredo (Did Not Weigh In) vs. Rene Nazare (160.75)
Dan Cramer (185.5) vs. Greg Rebello (185.5)
Mike Winters (170) vs. Ryan Quinn (169.75)
John McLaughlin (134.75) vs. Blair Tugman (135)

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