Joel Alvarez has all the weaponry needed to be a fixture in the Top 15 in the lightweight division, and he’s graced the rankings in the past, but right now, the long and lean Spaniard sits on the outside of the group looking in.
Some of that is simply because of the impressive depth of talent in the 155-pound weight class, where Paddy Pimblett’s seventh straight victory inside the Octagon last weekend was finally enough to allow him to crack the rankings, but it’s also because the talented 31-year-old has dealt with a few absences that dragged on longer than he or anyone else would like.