Marquez chokes out Alvey in FOTN candidate scrap
Twenty-fight UFC veteran Sam Alvey welcomed Julian Marquez back to the Octagon, following his February win and flirtations with Miley…
Twenty-fight UFC veteran Sam Alvey welcomed Julian Marquez back to the Octagon, following his February win and flirtations with Miley Cyrus. It was a fight the “Smilin” one desperately needed to win in his first fight at middleweight since 2017. He did not get it.
Make every story count.
Join XP Passport to earn XP as you read and build your martial arts profile.
The opening round started uneventfully as Alvey played the role of a counter puncher, and Marquez a measured attacker. With two minutes left, Marquez landed a right hook that wobbled the 50-fight veteran. For the rest of the round Alvey seemed sluggish but was still game and slinging bombs, and actually stung his opponent late in the frame. Overall, a round for “The Cuban Missle Crisis” in one that started slow but finished hot and heavy.
SHEEEEEESH! @JMarquezMMA was finishing that fight NO MATTER WHAT 🥶 #UFCVegas23 pic.twitter.com/5hwfT4A7I2
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) April 10, 2021
The second round was a battle of bombs that Marquez got the best of again when he stunned Alvey with three minutes left. The 34-year-old survived admirably during a punch barrage on the mat, but his opponent played it smart and sank in a choke that put Alvey to sleep.
It is the second straight submission win for the 30-year-old after a 22-month layoff. He is now 3-1 in the UFC and closing in on top-15 consideration. As for Alvey, he is now 0-5-1 in his last six and may be in danger of displaying his smile outside the UFC, if he chooses to fight on. His last win came in June 2018.
More coverage
UFC Vegas 121 preview: Rosas Jr. gets his first main event against a man who joined the UFC when Rojas was 13
The split that built tonight’s co-main: Ruffy left the Fighting Nerds, rebuilt with Volkanovski, and UFC 331 is the referendum
