All is not lost in the wake of Bellator's injury-plagued PPV card

If Alvarez vs. Chandler III had occurred on Saturday night as scheduled and had bombed as a draw, that would have been a dead-end disaster for Bellator's PPV

Jeff Wagenheim | May 13, 2014

All is not lost in the wake of Bellator's injury-plagued PPV card /

Bellator's May 17 PPV has been reduced to Jackson (right) vs. Lawal (not pictured) as the main event. — Bellator's May 17 PPV has been reduced to Jackson (right) vs. Lawal (not pictured) as the main event :: Al Bello/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC Via Getty Images/SI

If Alvarez vs. Chandler III had occurred on Saturday night as scheduled and had bombed as a draw, that would have been a dead-end disaster for Bellator's PPV dream. Where would the promotion have turned next? The trilogy title fight is the only ace in the promotion's hand, really, at least as an attraction worthy of opening the cash register. As it stands now, no matter what happens this weekend, there will be two 155-pound wildcards sitting in Bellator's back pocket, waiting to be played when the time is right.

Published May 13, 2014

JEFF WAGENHEIM

Paradoxically, Jeff Wagenheim considers himself a pacifist (except when driving in traffic) but nonetheless writes about mixed martial arts, the world's most combative sport (other than driving in traffic). As a veteran of three decades in magazines and newspapers, he's a bit grayer than most who attend UFC fights, even along press row. (A fan watching an MMA media panel show recently referred to him as "that crazy hippie uncle," to which Jeff responds, "Groovy, man!") Wagenheim also has tackled pro football for SI.com, and writes about sports and the arts for The Boston Globe. When he's not on the road chasing the UFC, Jeff spends Sunday afternoons spinning Sleepy LaBeef and Boozoo Chavis records for a popular (but not pop) radio show in western Massachusetts.