After a year spent on the sidelines due to injuries, Warlley Alves returned to the octagon with a bang as he demolished Mounir Lazzez at UFC on ESPN 20, then issued a direct callout to Nate Diaz.
The pair met in the co-main event at Etihad Arena, and Alves (14-4 MMA, 8-4 UFC) wasted no time getting started, as he quickly closed the distance, slammed a low kick into Lazzez’s leg, and unloaded a salvo of close-range punches before forcing the action up against the cage.
A series of elbows and a spinning backfist followed as the Brazilian continued his high-octane start to the action. Alves then took the action to the mat and began to move toward Lazzez’s back, but the Tunisian had the move well scouted and managed to get back to his feet and connect with a spinning elbow to register his first serious strike of the matchup.
However, Alves refused to give “The Sniper” a moment’s rest and immediately resumed his attack, letting rip with three rapid-fire body kicks that folded up Lazzez (10-2 MMA, 1-1 UFC) and forced the stoppage as referee Herb Dean stepped in to end the onslaught at the 2:35 mark.
The victory meant that Alves bounced back from his November 2019 loss to Randy Brown at UFC Fight Night 164 as the Brazilian confirmed his return to action with an eye-catching display.
“I’m here, I’m back!” Alves told Daniel Cormier before calling out Diaz over his use of marijuana.
“I don’t like marijuana guys. I don’t like that,” he said. “I hate that, because it’s a bad example for the sport. Nate Diaz, fight with me because I’ll prove it. Winners don’t use drugs. You’re a marijuana guy. I’m not like that. Let’s go, Nate Diaz.”
Up-to-the-minute UFC on ESPN 20 results include:
- Warlley Alves def. Mounir Lazzez via TKO (body kick, punches) – Round 1, 2:35
- Ike Villanueva def. Vinicius Moreira via knockout (punch) – Round 2, 0:39
- Viviane Araujo def. Roxanne Modafferi via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26)
- Matt Schnell def. Tyson Nam via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
- Lerone Murphy def. Douglas Silva de Andrade via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
- Omari Akhmedov def. Tom Breese via submission (arm-triangle choke) – Round 2, 1:41
- Ricky Simon def. Gaetano Pirrello via submission (arm-triangle choke) – Round 2, 4:00
- Su Mudaerji def. Zarrukh Adashev via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
- Dalcha Lungiambula def. Markus Perez via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Francisco Figueiredo def. Jerome Rivera via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Mike Davis def. Mason Jones via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Umar Nurmagomedov def. Sergey Morozov via technical submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 3:39
- Manon Fiorot def. Victoria Leonardo via TKO (head kick, punches) – Round 2, 4:08
