Joel Alvarez will not be competing at the upcoming UFC 315 event.
The fighter, nicknamed “El Fenomeno”, announced on Sunday via his Instagram account that a hand injury has forced his withdrawal from the lightweight contest against Benoit Saint Denis. This fight was originally scheduled for the pay-per-view card taking place this Saturday at the Bell Center in Montreal.
According to Alvarez`s statement, the hand injury is expected to sideline him from training for approximately three weeks. He did not specify a potential date for his return to competition.
As of now, it remains uncertain how this impacts Benoit Saint Denis and the UFC 315 card. Potential outcomes include rescheduling the fight between Alvarez and Saint Denis for a future date, finding a new opponent for Saint Denis to face on Saturday, or booking both fighters for separate bouts later on.
Alvarez holds a professional mixed martial arts record of 22 wins and 3 losses. He is currently enjoying a three-fight winning streak and has secured victories in seven of his last eight bouts. Notably, all 22 of his professional wins have come by way of a finish, either knockout or submission.
Benoit Saint Denis, the French competitor, also boasts a strong finishing record with 13 finishes in his career (13-3-1, 1 NC). However, he is looking to rebound from two consecutive losses against Renato Moicano and Dustin Poirier.
UFC 315 is set to be headlined by two championship encounters. In the main event, Belal Muhammad is scheduled to defend his welterweight title against Jack Della Maddalena. The co-main event will feature Valentina Shevchenko defending her flyweight championship against challenger Manon Fiorot.
