Rising lightweight Joel Alvarez meets Thiago Moises at UFC Vegas 42

Joel Alvarez’s first fight of 2021 will take place on Nov. 13 as he meets Thiago Moises at UFC Vegas 42, the Spanish talent announced on social media. Moises confirmed the news to MMA Fighting.

The Fight Night card will take place at the UFC APEX in Las Vegas and feature Max Holloway versus Yair Rodriguez in a five-round featherweight main event.

Alvarez, 28, won his past three octagon appearances with stoppages over Alexander Yakovlev, Joe Duffy and Danilo Belluardo, boosting his overall MMA record to 18-2.

“El Fenomeno” was scheduled to face Christos Giagos back in May at UFC 262, but had to withdraw from the Houston card due to visa issues.

Moises (15-5) was on a roll in the UFC with wins over Alexander Hernandez, Bobby Green and Michael Johnson before a recent setback against Islam Makhachev, losing via fourth-round submission this past July.

A former RFA 155-pound titleholder, Moises won five of eight octagon appearances, which includes a first-round knockout over Gleidson Cutis at Dana White’s Contender Series in 2018.