Joel Álvarez González (born March 2, 1993) is a Spanish

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorpo ...

who competes in the

Lightweight Lightweight is a weight class in combat sports and rowing. Boxing Professional boxing The lightweight division is over 130 pounds (59 kilograms) and up to 135 pounds (61.2 kilograms) weight class in the sport of boxing. Notable lightweight b ...

division of the

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

Background

Joel was born in

Gijón Gijón () or () is a city and municipality in north-western Spain. It is the largest city and municipality by population in the autonomous community of Asturias. It is located on the coast of the Cantabrian Sea in the Bay of Biscay, in the cen ...

, Spain and spent his childhood in the neighborhood of the Pumarín industrial park. When he was 18 years old he began to practice mixed martial arts at a gym in his city, the Tibet Sports Center, and years later he made his debut in several tournaments at regional level.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

A professional competitor since 2013, Álvarez fought primarily in his native Spain and garnered a record of 15 wins against 1 loss in the first five years of his career. He was undefeated in the Spanish promotion Ansgar Fighting League (AFL), where he was the Lightweight Champion, after defeating Brazil's Julio César Alves by submission in the second round.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

In his debut, Álvarez faced

Damir Ismagulov Damir Amangeldyevich Ismagulov (russian: Дамир Амангельдыевич Исмагулов; born February 3, 1991) is a Russian mixed martial artist, who competes in the Lightweight division. He has previously competed for the Ultimate ...

on February 23, 2019 at UFC Fight Night: Błachowicz vs. Santos. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. Álvarez faced Danilo Belluardo on June 1, 2019 at UFC Fight Night: Gustafsson vs. Smith. He won the fight via TKO in the second round. Álvarez faced Joseph Duffy on July 15, 2020 at

UFC Fight Night 172 ''UFC Fight Night: Figueiredo vs. Benavidez 2'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 172'', ''UFC on ESPN+ 30'' and ''UFC Fight Island 2'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on July 19, 2020 ...

. He won the fight via a submission in round one. Álvarez faced

Alexander Yakovlev Alexander Nikolayevich Yakovlev (russian: Алекса́ндр Никола́евич Я́ковлев; 2 December 1923 – 18 October 2005) was a Soviet and Russian politician, diplomat, and historian. A member of the Politburo and Secret ...

on October 24, 2020 at

UFC 254 ''UFC 254: Khabib vs. Gaethje'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on October 24, 2020 at the du Forum on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Background The event proceeded ...

. At the weigh-ins, Álvarez weighed in at 159.5 pounds, three and a half pounds over the lightweight non-title fight limit. The bout proceeded at catchweight and he was fined 30% of his purse, which went to his opponent Yakovlev. He won the fight via an armbar submission in round one. Álvarez was scheduled to face

Christos Giagos Christos Giagos (born January 23, 1990) is an American professional mixed martial artist who competes in the Lightweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Background Giagos was born and raised in Southern California. Giagos co ...

on May 15, 2021 at

UFC 262 ''UFC 262: Oliveira vs. Chandler'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on May 15, 2021 at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas, United States. Background A UFC Lightweight Championship ...

. However, Álvarez was removed from the bout in early May due to alleged

visa Visa most commonly refers to: *Visa Inc., a US multinational financial and payment cards company ** Visa Debit card issued by the above company ** Visa Electron, a debit card ** Visa Plus, an interbank network *Travel visa, a document that allows ...

issues that restricted his travel, and was replaced by

Sean Soriano Sean Soriano (born October 6, 1989) is an American mixed martial artist who competed in the featherweight division of the UFC. Background Born and raised in Providence, Rhode Island, Soriano wrestled in Mount Pleasant High School Soriano and beca ...

. Álvarez faced

Thiago Moisés Thiago Henrique Moisés (born 23 March 1995) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist who currently competes in the Lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He has been a professional MMA competitor since 2012. Previously, he compet ...

on November 13, 2021 at

UFC Fight Night 197 The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

. At the weigh-ins, Álvarez weighed in at 157.5 pounds, one and a half pounds over the lightweight non-title fight limit. The bout proceeded at a catchweight with Álvarez fined 30% of his purse, which went to Moisés. Álvarez won the fight via technical knockout in round one. Álvarez faced

Arman Tsarukyan Arman Nairovich Tsarukyan (; born October 11, 1996) is a Georgia-born Armenian and Russian professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Lightweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of January 17, 2023, ...

on February 26, 2022 at

UFC Fight Night 202 ''UFC Fight Night: Makhachev vs. Green'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 202'', ''UFC on ESPN+ 60'' and ''UFC Vegas 49'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on February 26, 2022 at the U ...

. He lost the bout via ground and pound TKO in the second round. Álvarez was scheduled to face

Zubaira Tukhugov Zubaira Alikhanovich Tukhugov (born January 15, 1991) is a Russian mixed martial artist who fights in the Lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional MMA competitor since 2010, Tukhugov made a name for himsel ...

on February 14, 2023 at

UFC 284 ''UFC 284: Makhachev vs. Volkanovski'' is an upcoming mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that will take place on February 12, 2023, at RAC Arena in Perth, Australia. Background The event will mark the promot ...

. However, Alvarez withrew from the event for undisclosed reasons and he was replace by promotional newcomer Elves Brenner.

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Loss , align=center, 19–3 ,

, TKO (punches) , UFC Fight Night: Makhachev vs. Green , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:57 ,

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vega ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 19–2 ,

, TKO (elbows and punches) , UFC Fight Night: Holloway vs. Rodríguez , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:01 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 18–2 ,

, Submission (armbar) ,

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:00 , Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates , , - , Win , align=center, 17–2 , Joseph Duffy , Submission (guillotine choke) , UFC Fight Night: Figueiredo vs. Benavidez 2 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:25 , Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates , , - , Win , align=center, 16–2 , Danilo Belluardo , TKO (punches) , UFC Fight Night: Gustafsson vs. Smith , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:22 , Stockholm, Sweden , , - , Loss , align=center, 15–2 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , UFC Fight Night: Błachowicz vs. Santos , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

, Czech Republic , , - , Win , align=center, 15–1 , Radu Maxim , Submission (triangle choke) , AFL 17: Coal and Blood , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:29 ,

Langreo Langreo (; ast, Llangréu) is a municipality and town in northern Spain, in Asturias. It is the 4th largest town of Asturias with 43,000 inhabitants. Langreo is located in the centre of Asturias, approximately south-east of Oviedo. It was an im ...

, Spain , , - , Win , align=center, 14–1 , Julio Cesar Alves , Submission (brabo choke) , AFL 16: Feudal War , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:02 ,

Valladolid Valladolid () is a municipality in Spain and the primary seat of government and de facto capital of the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is also the capital of the province of the same name. It has a population around 300,000 peo ...

, Spain , , - , Win , align=center, 13–1 , Alexandre Ribeiro , Submission (triangle choke) , AFL 15: Typhoon , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:17 , San Sebastián, Spain , , - , Win , align=center, 12–1 , Kevin Daniel Delgado , Submission (guillotine choke) , AFL 14: Outbreak , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:26 ,

Las Palmas Las Palmas (, ; ), officially Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, is a Spain, Spanish city and capital of Gran Canaria, in the Canary Islands, on the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital (jointly with Santa Cruz de Tenerife), the most populous city in th ...

, Spain , , - , Win , align=center, 11–1 , Francisco Gonzalez , Submission (guillotine choke) , AFL 13 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:59 ,

, Spain , , - , Win , align=center, 10–1 , Jekson Poleza , Submission (triangle choke) , AFL 12: Warcelona , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:57 ,

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ...

, Spain , , - , Win , align=center, 9–1 , Anthony Muller , TKO , Fight Night Series 2 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:33 ,

Montreux Montreux (, , ; frp, Montrolx) is a Swiss municipality and town on the shoreline of Lake Geneva at the foot of the Alps. It belongs to the district of Riviera-Pays-d'Enhaut in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland, and has a population of approxi ...

, Switzerland , , - , Win , align=center, 8–1 , Moncef Ed Doukani , Submission (anaconda choke) , MMA Casino Fights: Álvarez vs. Ed Doukani , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:45 ,

, Spain , , - , Win , align=center, 7–1 , Jose Luis Bravo , Submission (triangle choke) , MMA Casino Fights: Álvarez vs. Bravo , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:49 ,

, Spain , , - , Win , align=center, 6–1 , Carlos Villar , Submission (armbar) , MMA España: Bandog Challenge 3 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:20 ,

, Spain , , - , Loss , align=center, 5–1 , Ali Abdulkhalikov , KO (spinning heel kick) , M-1 Challenge 56 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:34 ,

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

, Russia , , - , Win , align=center, 5–0 , Graham Turner , Submission (guillotine choke) , Rage in the Cage 3 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, N/A , Paisley, Scotland , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 , Jose Luis Bravo , Submission (triangle choke) , MMA España: Desafio Burgos Profight 2015 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:20 ,

Burgos Burgos () is a city in Spain located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is the capital and most populated municipality of the province of Burgos. Burgos is situated in the north of the Iberian Peninsula, on the confluence o ...

, Spain , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Helson Henriques , Submission (anaconda choke) , International Pro Combat 6 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:23 , Lisbon, Portugal , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Hicham Rachid , Submission (triangle choke) , MMA España: Bandog Challenge 2 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:01 ,

, Spain , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Aratz Garmendia , Submission (triangle choke) , Txurdinaga Sutan: Pro Boxing & MMA , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:19 ,

Bilbao ) , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = 275 px , map_caption = Interactive map outlining Bilbao , pushpin_map = Spain Basque Country#Spain#Europe , pushpin_map_caption ...

, Spain , , -

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Álvarez, Joel Living people 1993 births Spanish male mixed martial artists Lightweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters Spanish practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu Sportspeople from Gijón