Olivier Busquet to fight JC Alvarado for $150K

Pete - Tuesday, October 20, 2015, Written by- Tuesday, October 20, 2015, Live poker

Back in September, serial high roller final tablist Olivier Busquet publicised a keen interest in finding an opponent from the poker community to take him on in a six-figure Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) bout, and less than four weeks on it seems that search has been successful.

When Busquet, who cashed an impressive six times at the 2015 WSOP (including a 3rd place run in a $1,500 buy-in No Limit Hold’em event that netted him a handsome $590,000), first announced the news, there were a host of renowned MMA enthusiasts thrown into the equation, but only one confirmed interest in the challenge himself:

@olivierbusquet I haven't trained seriously all year, but I'm interested. Lmk. — JC Alvarado (@JCAlvarado1) September 23, 2015

Negotiations between the two top poker pros then ensued until they reached the conclusion that, given Alvarado’s extensive MMA experience, he should be considered the favourite despite being hindered slightly by a weight disadvantage:

Big news: @olivierbusquet and I have agreed to an MMA fight. My 150k to his 120k, he weighs in at 187.5, I weigh in at 165. #letsdothis — JC Alvarado (@JCAlvarado1) October 17, 2015

The day I make a fight bet, I happen to be at Foxwoods and there happens to be a World Series of Fighting event.... pic.twitter.com/RtWykAbQ7Y — Olivier Busquet (@olivierbusquet) October 18, 2015

What this essentially boils down to is that both men will put up $150,000 of their own money, if Busquet wins he’ll win an additional $150,000 and if Alvarado wins, as the favourite he’ll pocket $120,000.

Neither player seems to be taking any further action on the fight themselves, but if you’re looking for some professional insight on the odds given for a wager of your own, there are few better sources than poker pro turned MMA fighter Terrence Chan:

JC deserves to be fave based on experience; comes down to 1) Liv's natural athleticism; 2) how seriously he trains. https://t.co/QzYTMh5Mae — Terrence Chan (@tchanpoker) October 18, 2015

Chan also pointed out that given the nosebleed stakes, this fight would actually end up awarding more to the winner than the majority of UFC bouts.

Tickets for the fight, which is yet to be stamped with a date or venue, are expected to become available to the public once official details have been finalised.

We’ll be sure to bring you more on these specifics, including where online and for how much you can book yourself a seat, as they emerge.