UFC Fight Island 2 Results: Joel Alvarez Upsets Joe Duffy

Joel Alvarez (right) UFC
ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - JULY 19: (L-R) Joel Alvarez of Spain punches Joe Duffy of Ireland in their lightweight bout during the UFC Fight Night event inside Flash Forum on UFC Fight Island on July 19, 2020 in Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)

Joel Alvarez got a huge upset win at UFC Fight Island 2, by submitting the Irishman Joe Duffy early in the first round.

“Irish” Joe Duffy was back in action at UFC Fight Night 2 for the first time in over a year. In fact, it was March of 2019 the last time Duffy made the walk to the octagon. While perhaps best known for wins over Norman Parke and a little-known Conor McGregor outside the UFC, Duffy had started off on a decent run inside the octagon.

However, after a 4-1 start to his UFC career, he’d dropped his last two fights. On Fight Island, he was looking to turn things around against Joel Alvarez. The Spaniard was 1-1 in the promotion to date, but Duffy would be his biggest test yet.

Joe Duffy started off fast against Alvarez, landing some devasting calf kicks to the legs of Alvarez, nearly buckling him with one of them. Alvarez responded with some nice leg kicks of his own and did a good job of withstanding the early onslaught by the Irishman. Duffy landed a nice combination and tried to follow up with a takedown, and while taking down Alvarez he got caught in a deep guillotine. A few seconds later and Alvarez got the tap! What a win for the underdog Alvarez.

Lots of the story heading into the bout was Joe Duffy looking for redemption and attempting to get back on the winning trail, instead it’s Joel Alvarez earning his second straight win in the UFC. Great win for him, and yet another devastating loss for Joe Duffy, who at one point was seen as a bright prospect in a tough 155-pound division.

Official Result: Joel Alvarez def. Joe Duffy via submission (guillotine choke), 2:25 of Round 1.