At 31 years old, Joel Álvarez (Gijón, 1993) is in the best moment of his sports career. Adding his seventh victory in the UFC with a KO for history in Tampa has allowed him to begin to sound like a name to take into account in the lightweight of the American company. He, who considers himself a worker in these matters, away from the spotlight and the hype of social networks, has assured that he will abandon his division, now that it was rising like foam. His goal, he says, is to be a good father and without cutting so much weight he will be able to fight more frequently, after all that is what interests him. However, one last dance is reserved in the category, just in case the UFC does not arrive in Spain in 2025, where it would find bigger fights because it has been doing spectacular performances in that place for a long time. After its triumph in the United States, El Fenómeno attends ABC exclusively to leave glimpses of what the future holds. -What good feelings after this victory, right? -Tremendous. I am very happy, now I want to enjoy with my girls (his daughter and her partner), with my family.-Let’s talk about combat. You have gone out very calmly, with maturity, into combat. What were you doing in those first moments of the fight? Were you waiting for your opportunity to close the distance and measure your opponent? -Yes, the strategy we had worked on. Be calm, box inside, no kicks, in the end we knew he was going to fight, no risky knees, just in the ‘clinch’ (grip). We knew that he entered from the left, that is, from his right. My coach and Enrique Wasabi had made him a suit, they even knew which side he picked up the phone on. Everything was very well prepared. He didn’t bring anything new, he did what we knew he was going to do. This makes fights much easier. -You had him very measured, but there was a moment that managed to knock you down. What happened there? -He managed to knock me down with a blow from my hand, but I managed to stand up and I had no problem. I told my team this guy wasn’t strong. I train at the Tibet Sports Club and work with stronger people. When he hugged me I noticed that I didn’t have the strength to control myself, it was another point of calm for the fight. -It has been a spectacular victory, I know you want to rest and be with your family… But, what is your horizon? -He horizon now is to be calm and enjoy, think about 170 pounds (one weight division above, instead of 70 kilos it is 77). If not, I would like to fight at the UFC event in Spain at lightweight if it happens at once. I’ll wait as long as it takes, I’m in no hurry to fight now. Standard Related News No Joel Álvarez, a UFC worker who knows no limits Álvaro Colmenero The Asturian fighter added his seventh victory in Tampa and his next fight could be against a rival in the top 15-In the event that you had a fight in the UFC Spain and you get another victory at lightweight, could you consider continuing fighting in this division? -No, I have already talked about it with my team, it is a decision made, it is because health. The weight cuts are very excessive, very harsh, I think one last shot, I have the revolver with a bullet in the light weight. -There are already many fights in the UFC, what has been special about this experience in Tampa (Florida)? -It has been another trip with my team, a new experience, fighting in the United States is cool, but I don’t like it at all, because it is a very long trip, with jetlag, you have to many days before, everything that entails, no It’s comfortable. In addition, it is coupled with the fact that you have to be losing weight. I like to fight better in places like Europe or Abu Dhabi, where you can go the same week as the fight. We have enjoyed it and we have good memories to take with us, to continue reaping these trips and triumphs. Pancho Villa’s Army continues to arm itself around the world. -From what date would you like to return to the UFC octagon? -From May more likely. Now calm down and enjoy Christmas with my daughter, that’s what I have left. It has been a very hard year, I have fought twice but I made four hard preparations with the two fights that fell through due to the visa denial. It’s been a dog year in terms of work, it’s been a lot. Now I can take a break. -This victory by KO against a fighter very close to the ranking reinforces you in the face of the possibility that you could be the star fight of an unnumbered event in Spain. How do you see this possibility? -It would be the best, to be the main event of the first UFC event in Spain, it would be something for the legacy, something historic, to make history in the sport. -To whom do you dedicate this triumph? -To all my fans, to all the people who support me a lot, to my team the Tibet Sports Center, which I always say is one of the best teams in the world. And especially to my wife and my daughter, who are my greatest support and my greatest reinforcement. They are my life.-Sometimes the perspective changes after a fight. Any rival that you are especially excited to fight in your next challenge? -I really like fighting against Paddy Pimblett because of the style he brings and Benoit Saint-Denis has a very striking style. They are people who stop to exchange, I like them for my way of competing, they are good names and to be the headliner in Spain would be the bomb.
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