Joel “El Fenomeno” Alvarez, 26, of Gijon, Asturias, Spain was one of the winners at “UFC Fight Night 153.” It was the Spanish mixed martial artist’s first victory in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
Featuring 12 mixed martial arts matches, “UFC Fight Night 153” took place at the Ericsson Globe in Stockholm, Sweden on June 1, 2019. In the first bout of the evening, Alvarez fought Danilo “Caterpillar” Belluardo, 24, of Milan, Italy in the lightweight division with Rebin Saber as the referee.
In the first round, it was Belluardo who dominated the action on the ground. Before the round ended, Alvarez made a late triangle choke attempt.
In the second round, Alvarez fired away with elbows. Belluardo did not respond to the strikes so Saber put a stop to the lightweight bout after 2 minutes and 22 seconds in the second round.
Winning at “UFC Fight Night 153” improved Alvarez’s professional MMA record to 16 wins and 2 losses. On the other hand, Belluardo now has 12 wins and 4 losses.
When Alvarez made his UFC debut at “UFC Fight Night 145” on February 23, 2019 at the 02 Arena in Prague, Czech Republic, he faced Damir Ismagulov, 28, of Orenburg, Russia. The Russian contender won via unanimous decision.
Alvarez has been competing professionally since 2013. Before joining the UFC, he competed in Rage in the Cage, M-1 Challenge and Ansgar Fighting League, among others.
“UFC Fight Night 153” marked Alvarez’s second UFC bout. Born in Gijon on March 2, 1993, he solely represented Spain in the event.
Belluardo made his UFC debut at “UFC Fight Night 153.” The Milan native was the only representative of Italy.
Including Italy, Spain and Sweden, 15 countries were represented at “UFC Fight Night 153.” The other countries were Austria, Brazil, Denmark, England, Finland, Germany, the Northern Mariana Islands, Russia, Scotland, Serbia, South Korea and the United States.
Watch the “UFC Fight Night 153” press conference here:
CONAN Daily 