Remember in December when UFC president Dana White said the situation with Lightweight Eddie Alvarez and Bellator was "going to get ugly"? Well, that's what's happening now. The last update on the legal situation came after Alvarez was denied a preliminary injunction that would have allowed him to compete at UFC 159 on April 27.

Since then, the case has been continued twice while both parties discussed settlement options. Most recently, Bellator filed a motion to dismiss two items from Alvarez's counterclaim against the company: tortious interference and breach of contract. The two items are both essential to Alvarez's argument and their dismissal would most likely destroy his entire argument.

Fortunately for Eddie, Judge Jose L. Linares of the U.S. District court denied Bellator's motion. SI.com provides the quote from Judge Linares' decision:

"In deciding the instant motion to dismiss, this Court must accept allegations in Alvarez's counterclaim as true," wrote Judge Linares. "Accepting the validity of Bellator's argument would require this Court to make a factual determination that Bellator, in fact, had a legitimate business-related justification for proposing a contract to Alvarez purporting to match the Zuffa offer. It would be inappropriate for this Court to make a factual determination at this stage."

Basically, this just resets the case back to where it was originally. In response to both Alvarez's preliminary injunct and Bellator's motion to dismiss, Linares has refused to give premature determination of facts. So, the case will continue as set until future motions are filed or it goes to trial.









