Statement made by Joel Alvarez
[
#UFCVegas42 | LIVE on @ESPNPlus ] pic.twitter.com/Ck4myVEAEq— UFC (@ufc)
November 13, 2021
Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream the UFC,
PFL, Dana White’s Contender Series and “The Ultimate Fighter” live
on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via
the ESPN app. Joel
Alvarez planted his flag in the
Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight division and shoved
Thiago
Moises out of the way while doing so. The surging Spaniard
discarded Moises with elbows and punches in the first round of
their featured
UFC Fight Night 197 prelim on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las
Vegas. Moises (15-6, 4-4 UFC) met his end 3:01 into Round 1, as the
former Resurrection Fighting Alliance champion lost for the second
time in as many outings.
Alvarez (19-2, 4-1 UFC) bullied the American Top Team
representative from start to finish, leaning on six-inch height and
reach advantages. He backed up Moises with jabs, leg kicks and
rapid-fire elbows. After moving back into open space, Alvarez
pressed forward once again, opened a serious cut near the
Brazilian’s hairline with another slashing elbow strike, pinned him
to the fence and let the punches fly until referee Marc Goddard
had seen enough.
Lee Shreds Replacement Calvillo
Former Legacy Fighting Alliance champion Andrea Lee
carved up Cynthia
Calvillo for the better part of 10 minutes, as she earned a
technical knockout in their women’s flyweight battle. A short
notice replacement for Jessica Eye,
Calvillo (9-4-1, 6-4-1 UFC) remained on her stool in between the
second and third rounds, resulting in a corner stoppage.
Lee (13-5, 5-3 UFC) utilized a wide array of offensive techniques,
but none were quite as important as the jab. She chipped away at
Calvillo from the outside, cut off her level changes with uppercuts
and denied her bids for takedowns. Lee grew more and more brazen as
the fight moved forward, firing front kicks to the body while
mixing in crisp combinations at all levels. Bleeding from her nose
and from a cut near her right eye, Calvillo
had nothing left to offer once the second round concluded.
The 32-year-old Lee will enter her next assignment on the strength
of two straight wins.
Woodson Body Snatches Anglin
The once-beaten Sean
Woodson cut down fellow Dana White’s Contender Series graduate
Collin
Anglin with punches in the first round of their featherweight
encounter. Anglin (8-3, 0-2 UFC) succumbed to blows 4:30 into Round
1.
The 6-foot-2 Woodson (9-1, 3-1 UFC) established himself with kicks,
clean one-twos and airtight takedown defense. He then pressured
Anglin backward, let hooks fly from both hands and eventually
zeroed in on the body. Woodson doubled over his adversary with a
series of left hooks to the ribcage, and while Anglin tried to stay
afloat,
one last shot to the liver had him looking for a way out and
forced referee Herb Dean to
intervene.
Woodson has posted back-to-back victories since his June 2020
submission loss to Julian
Erosa.
Casey Handles Outmatched Jojua
MMA Lab export Cortney
Casey registered her first victory in more than a year, as she
laid claim to a unanimous decision over onetime Fight Nights Global
champion Liana Jojua
in a three-round women’s flyweight affair. All three cageside
judges scored it the same: 30-27 for Casey (10-9, 6-8 UFC).
Jojua (8-5, 1-3 UFC) was essentially a non-factor outside of a few
late-round takedowns. Casey pestered her with multi-punch bursts
and paired them with occasional kicks to the legs and head. Jojua
managed to attain top position in all three rounds but lacked the
time and wherewithal necessary to exploit her advantages there,
thus allowing her counterpart to cruise to the finish line.
The 26-year-old Jojua has suffered back-to-back defeats for the
second time in her career.
Alves Guillotine Sinks Diakiese
Former Titan Fighting Championship titleholder Rafael
Alves rebounded from a May 22 decision loss to Damir
Ismagulov, as he submitted Marc
Diakiese with a guillotine choke in the first round of their
lightweight confrontation. Diakiese (14-5, 5-5 UFC) bowed out 1:48
into Round 1.
After a brief feeling-out process, Alves (20-10, 1-1 UFC) made his
move. He wobbled Diakiese with a jab,
followed with a flying knee to the chest and ensnared the Allstars
Training Center export in the guillotine when he ducked in for
an ill-advised takedown. Soon after, the explosive 31-year-old
Brazilian prompted the tap.
Alves has rattled off six wins in seven outings.
Jung Elbows Bury Nzechukwu
Korean Top Team’s Da Un Jung
put away Kennedy
Nzechukwu with a volley of standing elbow strikes in the first
round of their light heavyweight pairing. On a 15-fight unbeaten
streak, Jung (15-2-1, 4-0-1 UFC) brought it to an emphatic close
3:04 into Round 1.
Nzechukwu (9-2, 3-2 UFC) never shifted out of neutral. Jung
introduced himself with range-finding punches, staggered the Fortis
MMA rep with a jarring elbow strike and backed him to the fence.
From there, he continued to fire elbows—some landed, others were
blocked—until Nzechukwu
lost consciousness and collapsed to the canvas.
Jung, 27, has not tasted defeat since Oct. 24, 2015.
