MEXICO CITY -- The long-awaited grudge match between Gilbert Melendez and Eddie Alvarez wasn’t the barnburner everyone expected.
But it was a slow burner of a performance by Alvarez. The American Top Team fighter overcame a left eye which was swollen shut early and turned up the heat over the second half of the fight Saturday night at Arena Ciudad de Mexico.
Alvarez got the nod in a split decision at UFC 188, getting two out of three 29-28 scores from the judges in the long-awaited grudge match.
There was little action in the opening round, but Melendez got the best of it when they did engage.