Eddie Alvarez and Gilbert Melendez both took the scenic route to the UFC.
For better or worse, Alvarez and Melendez each spent the heart of their careers toiling in smaller organizations, where they both became lightweight champions and gained reputations as fearsome, all-action fighters.
Had their UFC 188 co-main event gone down a few years ago—say, anytime from 2009-11, the approximate span when Alvarez’s reign in Bellator MMA and Melendez’s dominance over Strikeforce overlapped—it might have been considered a bona fide dream fight.
As it stands, their scrap will still likely be worth the price of admission and is the odds-on favorite to scoop up Fight of the Night honors.