UFC 315 has already experienced a setback where, just seven days before the event, Benoit Saint Denis found himself without an opponent. Yes, you read that right. Joel Alvarez, who has a 22-3-0 record with three back-to-back wins in UFC, withdrew from the fight due to injury. At first, there was no news about the kind of injury that he suffered. But now we have Intel from the man himself, who decided to come clean on Instagram.

He posted a note on Instagram stating, “Hey there, everyone, I’m out of my fight at UFC 315 due to a hand injury that left me unable to start punching for 3 weeks. Many factors are not in our hands and we cannot control. Camp had been perfect so far. We will be back this year, reformed and with a different focus,” he finished. “Thank you very much to everyone, always for the support, you are the best.”

However, the uncanny thing is that the official UFC account posted the names for the UFC 315 press conference. And guess whose name they included? Yes, it’s Joel Alvarez. The carousel of pictures with the top dogs included a caption stating, “Busy week up North CA. Don’t miss any of the UFC 315 Festivities!”

The list had the usual—Belal Muhammad and Jack Della Maddalena are headlining in what promises to be an incredibly exciting bout. Before that, in the co-main event, Valentina Shevchenko and her opponent Manin Fiorot will throw down for the flyweight championship! But on the list, Joel Alvarez’s name is still on it, considering the news of his injury came out. What’s happening? Even fans are bewildered.

Fans are bewildered seeing the name of Joel Alvarez on the UFC 315 press conference list

One fan questioned, “Didn’t Alvarez pull out?” While another wrote, “Is Alvarez not injured or what like tf is going on?” The #15-ranked lightweight ‘El Fenomeno’ is injured and the news has been making the rounds. So it’s quite odd that the UFC would release his name along with the rest of the fighters on the card. Another follower hilariously commented, “They’re gaslighting Alvarez to be on the card,” while one fan said, “I thought Joel Alvarez pulled out.” 

A netizen asked, confused, “So Alvarez is fighting?” While another chimed in, “Why is Alvarez still there?” He has withdrawn from the fight as per his accounts and various other sources, and there were fighters who jumped at the opportunity of a short-notice fight and saved Dana White. Mateusz Rebecki was one of them and posted a non-unofficial poster of him and Saint Denis.

In the captions, he wrote, “@benoitst_denis I’m ready to step in, I’m in Miami in Att on weigh let’s go @malkikawa @abrahamkawa @orin_luca let’s do this UFC315 #ReadyToFight #ShortNotice.” But will the UFC take notice of this? 

One fan joked, “The Ghost of Joel Alvarez will steal the show.” Just like fans, we are equally confused about the post. Does this mean the UFC will clarify what is happening at the conference? What do you think? Share your thoughts in the comments below.