Athletes
Chris Padilla Is Determined To Make Every Second Count
UFC Lightweight Chris Padilla Took His Short-Notice Debut And Made It Count. Now He’s Ready To Show up And Show Out In His Sophomore Appearance
Chris Padilla had to wait a long time for his shot on the big stage. Now that he’s got it, he’s planning to make the most of it.
Padilla makes his second UFC appearance this weekend at UFC Fight Night: Burns vs. Brady, and he’s still getting used to being a part of the biggest MMA promotion on the planet.
“Just being a part of the UFC is just a surreal moment,” he told UFC.com during fight week in Las Vegas.
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It's a dream I've had for 16 years – I’m going to be 29 this month, so it was just amazing being a part of it.”
Padilla is a 10-year veteran of the professional fight game, but his Octagon debut didn’t come until his 20th pro bout, when he stepped in on two weeks’notice to face James Llontop at UFC Fight Night: Nicolau vs. Perez. To make the occasion even sweeter, Padilla marked the occasion with a first-round submission victory.
That win, and the realization that he is now officially a UFC fighter, is a source of great pride for the 28-year-old.
Chris Padilla Earns First-Round Finish In UFC Debut | UFC Fight Night: Nicolau vs Perez
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Chris Padilla Earns First-Round Finish In UFC Debut | UFC Fight Night: Nicolau vs Perez
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I was just telling my coach today, signing the poster still gets me all teary-eyed,” he said.
“Just because I remember collecting them and couldn't get a hold of any, and things like that, you know? So that was just the greatest moment ever.
“And then fighting, man, it was awesome. It was just like, man, I'm here, it’s real, I can grab it. And then winning was just like, ‘I knew it!’ I just put so much work into it. So, when they said short notice, it was like, I'm ready already, and whatever happens, happens. So I'm just happy I got the job done in the first round, showing the UFC I am who I say I am.”
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Padilla has dreamed of making it to the UFC ever since he first started watching the sport 16 years ago, and in a career that has seen its fair share of ups and downs, he admitted that he did wonder if he’d ever get to the big stage.
“I’ve doubted it several times,” he admitted.
“I was super close in 2014 but I came up short. And when you believe you're invincible for so long, and then someone's like, ‘Nope, you're not invincible,’ it unravels you, basically.
So, I had to go through the unraveling, building myself up, being unraveled again, building myself up. I felt like I've lived a lifetime going through MMA. I remembered so many days of doing dishes and fantasizing, ‘Man, I could be in there,’ watching events like, ‘Man, I could do that. I know I can.’
“To be here is fantastic, and I'm grateful for everybody and everything that came into it – the goods and the lessons. So I'm proud to be here.”
Given that lifelong quest to get to the big stage, you’d think that the moment when he eventually got the call would be something he’d remember forever. And, as he relayed the circumstances to us, there’s no doubt that he certainly will, but maybe not for the reasons you’d expect.
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I was in the gym, on the toilet!” he laughed.
“Life is funny sometimes. Just all the jokes that led into it, and to really just be sitting on the toilet, and then to get the call and to be like, ‘This is the opportunity. Here it is!’
“I’m like, ‘Bro, there’s no f*****g way I’m s******g on the toilet and you guys are offering me the UFC contract right now. Get out of here, man! Get out of here!’ And I couldn’t say yes fast enough.
“My manager was already like, ‘Hey, you might get the call, so keep your weight low.’ But I’ve already been through so many maybes. I’ve always got another maybe coming up, but I stayed disciplined, I listened to exactly what he said.”
Then, when the moment came, he just had to laugh.
“I remember hearing him on the phone … my mouth literally dropped.
“I’m just looking at myself, and I'm like, ‘Damn, bro! S******g is a good idea! I was cutting weight, literally!”
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His debut couldn’t have gone much better. A first-round submission victory saw him get his UFC run off to a flying start, but now he plans to kick things up a gear with an even bigger performance this weekend when he takes on China’s Rongzhu at the UFC APEX.
“I felt that first one was like, ‘I want to see what I can do… There it is.’ Now it's just like, ‘Okay, it's time to make statements now. Now it's time to really start cleaning house.’
“I know I don't have much time left, because I've been doing this for 16 years. So I'm just ready to make statements now, and that's what I'm planning to do with my opponent. It's just calm, collected, and make my statement.”
The matchup itself will see Padilla face a fighter four years his junior, but who has had 10 more fights. The 25-5 Shanghai-based fighter has earned his second stint in the UFC with a hat-trick of wins on Road to UFC. It’s a matchup that could force Padilla into the trenches. And, if that’s what’s needed, he says he’s ready.
“Always expect that I'll give my heart and soul to this,” he said.
“When I'm in there, wherever I have to go – me and my coach always talk about going to the abyss. So, if I have to go there with Rongzhu, I will. But I know I'm a lot more tactical, a lot more skilled, and my IQ is just higher, and I expect to put that on display.”
Padilla is determined to make his time in the UFC count, and plans on leaving it all in the Octagon on fight night – his own competitive motivation will ensure that. But as a veteran competitor who found his way to the UFC late in his career, he also takes pride in being able to show other vets of the game that the door is still open to those fighters who just keep plugging away and never giving up on their dreams.
“Even you asking me that just gave me goosebumps, because at this point that's all I have left to do,” he said.
“Obviously, (I want to) chase the title (and) win, win, win, win. All the ups and downs. But that's martial arts … it’s a lot of me, me, me. But, most of all, I want everyone to see that and chase it, whatever it is.
“And it doesn’t have to be fighting. If you want to be the greatest chef, the best laundromat worker, whatever it is, I'm saying, just stay on it. Don't let the outside forces, whether it's your community or your personal self, don't let that pull you away from what you want.
“Because, man, broken dreams suck. It really does suck. I remember sitting there just thinking, ‘I don't think I'm ever gonna get a chance to prove that I can do that. I can compete with them.’
“So, to everybody out there who's chasing dreams, who feel like their dreams are gone, don't quit. Just don't quit. And wherever you land, you'll be proud of yourself for not quitting.”
UFC Fight Night: Burns vs Brady took place live from UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada on September 7, 2024. See the final Prelim & Main Card Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC FIGHT PASS!
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