Joel Alvarez, Joseph Duffy (©UFC)

Joel “El Fenomeno” Alvarez, 27, of Gijon, Asturias, Spain earned his second victory in the Ultimate Fighting Championship on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The Spanish mixed martial artist was one of the “UFC Fight Night 172” winners.

Also called “UFC on ESPN+ 30,” “UFC Fight Night 172” featured 12 MMA matches on the UFC Fight Island on Yas Island on July 19, 2020 in the UAE or July 18, 2020 in the United States. Alvarez fought Joseph “Irish Joe” Duffy, 32, of Donegal, Ireland in the lightweight division in the fifth bout, which was refereed by Marc Goddard.

Goddard put a stop to the lightweight contest after 2 minutes and 25 seconds in the first round. Alvarez submitted Duffy via guillotine choke.

This is the 15th time Alvarez submitted an opponent in a professional MMA bout. Winning at “UFC Fight Night 172” improved the Spanish MMA fighter’s professional MMA record to 17 wins and 2 losses.

“He surprised me with the lateral kicks at the beginning,” Alvarez said of Duffy. “But we had practiced a little bit maintain that aspect and at the end of the day, we were able to maintain and control that aspect.”

Fighting professionally since 2013, Alvarez joined the UFC in 2019. The first opponent he defeated in the promotion was Danillo Belluardo.

On the other hand, Duffy made his UFC debut in 2015. With 16 wins and 5 losses, the Irish MMA fighter announced his retired after his loss to Alvarez.

“UFC Fight Night 172” was the third UFC event to take place on the UFC Fight Island during the new coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. A total and 17 countries were represented namely Armenia, Brazil, Canada, the DR Congo, England, Georgia, Iraq, Ireland, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Norway, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Ukraine, the U.S. and Wales.

Alvarez solely represented Spain. Duffy was the sole representative of Ireland.

In the main event, Deiveson “Deus da Guerra” Figueiredo, 32, of Soure, Para, Brazil was crowned the new UFC Flyweight Champion after his rematch with Joseph Benavidez, 35, of Sacramento, California, USA. In the co-main event, Jack “The Joker” Hermansson, 32, of Norway and Sweden submitted Kelvin Gastelum, 28, of Yuma, Arizona, USA in the middleweight division.