Victor Valenzuela nearly lost hope of having UFC career

Victor Valenzuela got a second chance at a UFC career and made the most of it.

Valenzuela (14-4) made his UFC debut in a welterweight clash against Max Griffin (20-13) at UFC Fight Night 274 on Saturday at the Apex in Las Vegas. Despite getting knocked down, Valenzuela fought back and earned a unanimous decision win in a violent affair. 

Valenzuela initially got a chance at a UFC career on Dana White's Contender Series last year. However, the Chilean prospect suffered a second-round stoppage loss against Michael Oliveira. Valenzuela recently revealed that he had nearly given up on a UFC career following his loss on the Contender Series. However, Valenzuela’s teammates assured him that more opportunities would come his way if he continued to work hard. “Psicosis” bounced back with a stoppage win over Yusaku Kinoshita on the regional circuit last month. Just weeks after his win over Kinoshita, Valenzuela was offered an opportunity to make his UFC debut against Griffin on five days’ notice. Valenzuela says that just the second chance was enough for him to accept the fight, regardless of the opponent or the weight class.

Never Giving Up

“To be really honest with you, after my opportunity at Contender Series, I thought this was done and I wouldn’t have another shot at the UFC,” Valenzuela said in a post-fight interview with the UFC. “But every single one of my teammates said, ‘Listen, you don’t give up on this. You are young. You have so many opportunities. This is what you like to do.’ And that’s what I continued to do it. I love doing this. I continue to work hard… Just the fact that I was gonna get the opportunity to fight in the UFC, against whoever it was, whatever weight division it was, doesn’t matter. The fact that I’m here and getting another opportunity, I was gonna get the win.”