It was a very real possibility that has just been confirmed. Joel Álvarez (22-3-0) returns to the top 15 of the UFC lightweight, the place where the big names of the American company, the most competitive division in the world of mixed martial arts (MMA), sit down to eat. The Asturian has returned there after brutally knocking out Drakkar Klose last Sunday in the last event of the UFC season, which took place in Tampa (Florida), where he managed to add his seventh victory in the largest league on the planet.
The Phenomenon, as he is nicknamed, had a spectacular performance in his confrontation, so those in charge of updating the rankings weekly (media experts) have decided to place, once again, Joel Álvarez in position number 15, a place which he held in November 2021, after knocking out Thiago Moises, but which he abandoned after being defeated by Arman Tsarukyan in February 2022. He became the first Spanish fighter to enter the top 15 of the UFC. Since then, a streak of victories against Marc Diakiese in July 2023, Elves Brenner in October of this year and the aforementioned triumph against Klose have allowed him to climb back into the top 15.
«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,” the Asturian assured this newspaper from the Amalie Arena, surrounded by his team, who It resembles Pancho Villa’s army more than Don Pelayo’s, due to his particular grace in developing his things. All possibilities are open.
For the moment, he wants to rest and structure his career, while resting in a position that is beginning to be of great importance in the UFC and key to the consolidation of Spain as an emerging market in this sports organization. Joel Álvarez will aim for his return in May, but in the meantime he will continue training hard, working to continue being a mixed martial arts worker whose sky is the limit.
The unknown: rise to welterweight
The horizon is promising for him, since his name is already written among the best in the lightweight division (155 pounds, 70.3 kilograms) and in his next fight he should aim above the top 15, that is, sit at the table where the stars of this sport eat. However, the hardship involved in losing almost 15 kilos while measuring 1.90 meters and not having any fat to pull from has led him to make the decision to move up the category to welterweight (170 pounds, 77.1 kilos).
«The horizon now is to be calm and enjoy, think about 170 pounds. If not, I would like to fight at the UFC event in Spain at lightweight if it happens at once. “I will wait as long as it takes, I am in no hurry to fight now,” he told this newspaper after concluding his performance on American soil.
Joel Álvarez is clear that he reserves a ‘last dance’ in the lightweight category, where he is already very well positioned, but he assured that there will be no turning back. «I have already talked about it with my team, it is a decision made, it is for health. The weight cuts are very excessive, very hard, I think one last shot, I have the revolver with a bullet in the light weight,” explained the Asturian.
However, entering the lightweight top 15 could leave the door open to making one last run at the UFC world title, which could include, in that case, more than one fight in the division.
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