Fitch-Alves Rematch Greenlit for UFC 111

Two of the world’s top welterweights will toe the line against one another when Jon Fitch meets Thiago Alves in a featured match at UFC 111 “St. Pierre vs. Hardy” on March 27 at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. Eleven bouts are now official for the event.

Fitch and Alves were originally scheduled to lock horns in December, but the Brazilian suffered what was described as a small tear to a posterior cruciate knee ligament and withdrew. Fitch defeated Alves by second-round technical knockout at UFC Fight Night 5 in June 2006.

Anchored at the American Kickboxing Academy in San Jose, Calif., Fitch last competed at UFC 107 two months ago, when he earned a unanimous decision against Mike Pierce. The 31-year-old Fort Wayne, Ind., native has secured 18 wins in his past 19 fights, losing only to reigning UFC welterweight king Georges St. Pierre in that span. Fitch owns other notable victories against former World Extreme Cagefighting title challenger Brock Larson, the world-ranked Paulo Thiago, one-time Sportfight champion Chris Wilson and “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 1 winner Diego Sanchez.

Still only 26, Alves has not appeared in the Octagon since his unanimous decision loss to St. Pierre at UFC 100 last summer. The defeat snapped a seven-fight winning streak for the American Top Team-trained “Pitbull,” one of the division’s most feared stand-up fighters. Wins against former UFC welterweight titleholder Matt Hughes, the world-ranked Josh Koscheck and Karo Parisyan anchor his resume.

A welterweight title match pairing St. Pierre with British standout Dan Hardy will headline UFC 111, along with a showdown pitting Frank Mir against the undefeated Shane Carwin for the interim heavyweight championship.