LONDON – Joel Alvarez beat Marc Diakiese with a second-round submission Saturday on the preliminary card at UFC Fight Night 224 at The O2 in London.
Take a look inside the fight with Alvarez, whose submission came not long after Diakiese complained about head clash for which he didn’t get a recovery timeout.
Joel Alvarez vs. Marc Diakiese
Result: Joel Alvarez def. Marc Diakiese via submission (arm-triangle choke) – Round 2, 4:26
Updated records: Alvarez (20-3 MMA, 5-2 UFC), Diakiese (16-7 MMA, 7-7 UFC)
Key stat: Alvarez more than doubled up on Diakiese in total strikes, but Diakiese had more than twice the amount of control time.
Alvarez on the fight's key moment
“We stopped (when our heads clashed). The ref told us to keep going, so I kept going. I was happy to get the submission. All my victories come from submission, so I was happy to go in there and get one more.”
Alvarez, from Spain, on fighting in London
“I hadn’t fought in Europe in four years. Being in front of people and fighting in front of these people here and fighting inland was amazing.”
Alvarez on what he wants next
“I want to come back (and fight someone in) the top 15. (I’m interested in the winner of Thiago Moises and Benoit Saint Denis at UFC Paris). I fought (Moises) before and he’s somebody that I know. So there are two guys that are very at the top and two possible guys that I could fight.
“… I’ve only fought once since (I lost to) Arman (Tsarukyan). The reality is that I’m back. I’m here to show that I’m back. I want to be more active. I had some ear injuries. I was going to fight in February in Australia and I had some visa problems. But now I want to stay more active. For sure, before the year’s over, we’ll be back.”
To hear more from Alvarez, check out the video of the full post-fight interview above.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 224.
