With Ricardo Almeida Out, Jon Fitch vs. Thiago Alves Likely in the Works

Ricardo Almeida is out, Jon Fitch announced on his website and twitter accounts.

"My fight on Nov. 21st is off, Almedia blew out his knee, but I get a bigger better fight instead. Cant say who yet, but lots of you have been waiting for this fight a long time."

My initial reaction is one of disappointment, as I was eagerly anticipating Almeida's welterweight debut against Fitch. Had Almeida won, he would have instantly put himself in the title picture.

That being said, Fitch sets the bar pretty high by announcing that his new fight is a bigger and better one.

Better than Ricardo Almeida? Looking at the UFC's welterweight roster, there really aren't a ton of fights that I'd be more excited about for Fitch, since he isn't about to be fighting his AKA teammates Mike Swick and Josh Koscheck.

The AKA boys have been calling out Hughes for a while now, but Hughes doesn't really seem that interested in the fight.

The only fight that really qualifies as being "bigger, better, and long-awaited," is a rematch with Thiago Alves. If this is the case, the UFC has made a great move for the fans.

An Alves vs. Fitch fight would be a fight for the undisputed number two spot in the world welterweight rankings.

The UFC has been hesitant to put this match together because UFC management was trying to build both fighters back up to the point where they feel that they can once again be marketed for a title shot against Georges St. Pierre, the man who defeated both without losing a round.

The UFC welterweight division isn't exactly bursting with credible contenders, so the UFC really didn't want to sacrifice one of them so early for the sake of building the other.

Alves is currently scheduled to fight Paulo Thiago at UFC 107, but this would not be the first time that the UFC has scrapped fights in favor of a better matchup.

In fact, Alves has been part of a few replacement fights, as he stepped in to face Matt Hughes when the Shogun vs Liddell fight was delayed, and Koscheck came in as a replacement to face Alves late last year.

This fight instantly becomes the most anticipated fight in the welterweight division. There are so many story lines.

Fitch dominated their first encounter, although the end came with an unexpected up-kick knockout. Despite the win, Fitch feels that he's never really received credit. People tell him that he didn't beat Thiago Alves the destroyer, but rather, he beat the old Thiago Alves, who didn't know how to wrestle or do Jiu Jitsu.

To some degree, these criticisms are accurate. Alves has improved by leaps and bounds since his first fight with Fitch, to the point that great wrestlers like Matt Hughes and Georges St. Pierre have not been able to hold him down.

Alves's most impressive performance might have been against Fitch's teammate, Josh Koscheck. Alves dominated the striking exchanges, while Koscheck, an NCAA Division I champion couldn't even take Alves down.

A rematch would give Alves a chance to avenge his loss to Fitch, while Fitch can get a  chance for a little revenge on behalf of Koscheck.

If Alves had defeated St. Pierre at UFC 100, this fight would have already been booked due to the natural storylines. Nevertheless, unless I'm really missing something, it seems like the UFC has really come through again, and turned a bad situation into a great one.