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
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“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
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“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
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“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.