Damir Ismagulov to Fight Against Octagon Newcomer Joel Alvarez at UFC Prague

A 10-bout winning streak has earned Joel Alvarez a contract with the Ultimate Fighting Championship, as the Spaniard lightweight is reportedly set to lock horns with Damir Ismagulov at UFC Prague on Feb. 23.

The news was first reported on Sunday morning by Marcel Dorff of MMA DNA, and Sherdog.com subsequently confirmed the booking.

Alvarez made his professional debut in 2013 and has been competing largely under the Ansgar Fighting League’s banner in his career to date. “El Fenomeno” has 15 wins and just one loss on his record, with the last five coming within the AFL cage. Alvarez has earned 14 of his triumphs by submission and one via TKO. His only loss has come by KO against Ali Abdulkhalikov at M-1 Global Challenge 56. He won the AFL’s vacant lightweight belt after submitting the Moldovan-born Radu Maxim in his last appearance at AFL 17.

Ismagulov also is riding an impressive 10-bout winning streak. The 27-year-old fighter was M-1 Global’s reigning lightweight champion prior to signing with the UFC. He was expected to face Joe Duffy in his first Octagon foray, but the Irish fighter pulled out due to injury. The Dagestani fighter then earned an unanimous decision against his UFC newcomer Alex Gorgees at UFC Fight Night 142.

UFC Prague will go down Feb. 23 at the O2 Arena in Prague, Czech Republic. The event is also known as UFC on ESPN+ 3 and is scheduled to be headlined by a light heavyweight bout between top-10 contenders Jan Blachowicz and Thiago Santos.