Joel Alvarez made quite a statement at UFC Vegas 42 after tearing through Thiago Moises inside the first round.
Best known for his high-level submission game, Alvarez terrorized Moises on the feet on Saturday as he was powerful and accurate with all of his combinations. After trapping Moises against the cage, Alvarez just blitzed him with a barrage of punches that saw the Brazilian covering up to save himself, which forced the referee to finally step in to stop the contest.
The end came at just 3:01 in the first round.
“I’ve always said I was a striker,” Alvarez said following I’m here to strike. That’s it, I can do it. It doesn’t matter [who’s next]. I want to be top 15.”
Alvarez set the tone early as he employed full use of his size and reach advantage against Moises, who was struggled to make his way inside against a taller opponent. Alvarez continuously mixed up his combinations by going to the body and head while also throwing strikes in succession, which kept Moises off balance.
Finally, Alvarez forged ahead and blasted Moises with an elbow strike that had him rattled and it didn’t take long for the Spanish fighter to unload with even more damaging shots that eventually got him the stoppage.
Alvarez is now 4-1 in the UFC with four straight finishes, although this is the second consecutive fight where he’s failed to make the lightweight limit. Before he tackles anyone else in the rankings, Alvarez will probably need to get his weight in check but he definitely got everybody’s attention with his finish on Saturday at UFC Vegas 42.
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