Lawler vs. Villasenor title fight on Nov. 8 not a lock

Reports that a EliteXC middleweight title defense by incumbent Robbie Lawler on Nov. 8 against Joey Villasenor could soon be finalized may be a tad premature.

While speaking with EliteXC Vice President Jared Shaw on Monday, Shaw was unwilling to rule out the possibility of a Lawler vs. Villasenor fight being added to the card at some point but expressed that he felt the report should be treated as a rumor at this stage.

We contacted Lawler’s manager, Monte Cox, for comment on Monday, but our request was not immediately returned.

A Lawler vs. Villasenor fight appears uncertain at this point but one fighter who appears to be a lock for the Nov. 8 show is Nick Diaz.

Shaw has stated in separate interviews that with Murilo “Ninja” Rua and Beni Radach officially being added to the promotion’s Oct. 4 CBS show in Ft. Lauderdale it means that any possibility of K.J. Noons defending his lightweight title vs. Diaz is out the window. However, EliteXC still has plans for Diaz and Shaw indicated that he’s expected to be a part of the promotion’s Nov. 8 show, which will be televised on SHOWTIME.

Sources have also informed FiveOuncesOfPain.com that EliteXC would like to add Eddie Alvarez to the show. The plan would be to feature Alvarez and Diaz in separate fights and build to a possible fight between the two, which could be for a vacated EliteXC lightweight title if Noons and his camp do not answer the call to face a fighter the promotion has deemed as a number one challenger.