“Jordan Leavitt is a grappler, so here we go again,” began del Valle, who has shown strong grappling abilities of his own throughout his career, but is often profiled as a striker and therefore routinely finds himself being paired off with opponents that will look to take him to the canvas. “We’re gonna face a grappler, it’s nothing new in my career facing somebody that is going to want to take me down, put me on the ground.
“We know what he’s coming to do and we’re not gonna let him feel comfortable inside the cage. We’re gonna do everything to finish this fight as soon as possible, and if we cannot do it, we will find a way to get a victory on Saturday.”
Preview Every Bout On Saturday’s Card In Houston
While the opportunity to compete at home is special for every athlete that gets to experience it, there is clearly a different level of pride and appreciation for having the opportunity to do so this weekend for del Valle.
After beginning his combat sports journey with judo in his native Cuba, he moved to Mexico at 17, then settled in Houston two years later, and this is where his MMA dreams really started taking shape.
Now, a decade later, the unbeaten up-and-comer gets to walk out to the Octagon in the city that helped shape his career, and there is nothing that would feel sweeter than delivering another standout performance this weekend.
