ABU DHABI – Joel Alvarez beat Alexander Yakovlev with a first-round submission Saturday to open up the preliminary card at UFC 254 in Abu Dhabi.
Take a look inside the fight with Alvarez, who won for the third straight time, all by stoppage.
Alvarez on the fight’s key moment
“We both had long arms, so we trained that a lot. I was in the guard and I was able to get him in the triangle and pull the arm. I’m a submission artist. I felt like the arm wasn’t completely on his neck, so I didn’t want to get tired with that submission. I just played that into grabbing the arm, getting into the triangle and going for the armbar.”
First round armbar!
El Fenomeno showing off his solid ground game at #UFC254.
[ Main card at 2pm ET: https://t.co/QRo69oxI0h ] pic.twitter.com/GyXRQljURc
— UFC (@ufc) October 24, 2020
Alvarez on missing weight Friday
“I’m a professional. That’s never happened before, and it’s never going to happen again. Next time, I’m just going to have to plan it out. Four weeks’ (notice) maybe wasn’t enough for me to make weight.”
Victoria para #España 🇪🇸 #UFC254 se hace oficial! pic.twitter.com/Z74yHZ7oj4
— ufcespanol (@UFCEspanol) October 24, 2020
Alvarez on what he wants next
ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES – OCTOBER 24: (R-L) Joel Alvarez of Spain attempts to submit Alexander Yakovlev of Russia in their lightweight bout during the UFC 254 event inside Flash Forum on UFC Fight Island on October 24, 2020 in Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
“I feel very good. This is my third win in a row. I feel very good getting all of those wins, but right now I need to take some time off and take care of some injuries and we’ll see what comes next. I’ll be back soon, more prepared, feeling better and getting a better win next time. ”
To hear more from Alvarez, check out the video of the full post-fight interview above.