Athletes
Daniel Zellhuber: The Kid’s Gonna Be Alright
Positive Results And An Impressive Mindset Have Promising Lightweight On Track For Long-Term Success In The UFC
Listening to Daniel Zellhuber speak in advance of his highly anticipated lightweight clash with Esteban Ribovics on this weekend’s Riyadh Season Noche UFC pay-per-view main card, there are very clear reasons to believe that no matter how things shake out, the 25-year-old Mexican prospect is going to have a long, successful career inside the Octagon.
A member of the Dana White’s Contender Series Class of ’21, Zellhuber heads into Saturday’s contest on a three-fight winning streak, having followed up his submission win over Christos Giagos at last year’s inaugural Noche UFC event with a unanimous decision win over Francisco Prado in Mexico City back in February.
But rather than citing specific strengths or areas he’s focused on most when asked about the keys to his recent run of good form, Zellhuber instead allowed himself to be a little vulnerable, acknowledging that he needed to clear a mental hurdle that many athletes struggle with once they first arrive in the biggest stage and in the sport and fail to immediately replicate the success they had previously enjoyed elsewhere.
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“I feel that the most important thing I’ve been finding is self-confidence,” admitted Zellhuber, who carries a stellar 15-1 mark into his main card clash with Ribovics this weekend at The Sphere. “When you get to the UFC and your first fight is a defeat, as is my case, that breaks you mentally a little bit.
“After I lost that fight, I was struggling with the thoughts about belonging here in the UFC. Now, after a three-fight winning streak, the way I’ve been winning, the way I’ve been evolving in the gym with my training partners, I feel that I’m more dangerous than ever.”
That’s not something most fighters are going to freely express, even though many have wrestled with the same questions at different points in their careers, but especially in those early days of joining the UFC roster.
In many cases, competitors have stormed their way through the regional ranks, rarely encountering struggles and seldom facing setbacks, which understandably creates a sense that things are going to remain the same at the next level. For a select few, everything does continue in the same manner, but for the majority, life in the UFC brings tougher fights, more daunting challenges, and losses that leave you questioning everything you thought about yourself beforehand.
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The ones that ultimately succeed are the ones that are able to come to terms with those new realities and address them quickly, and Zellhuber appears to have done just that.
“I know who I am and I’m confident in my skill set; that’s something I wanna show,” said the promising young talent, who trains in Las Vegas at Xtreme Couture. “That’s why I’m saying, ‘I’m gonna knock him out’ — it’s not to be cocky; it’s truly because I’m working to get that knockout.
“I’m training for a purpose,” he added. “I used to train because I want to be better, I want to win the fights, but now I’m training to knock Esteban out. Even if the knockout doesn’t come, I know I’m working to achieve that, and in doing that, I’m gonna be ready for the fight.
“I’m really training all the areas, leaving no stone unturned.”
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The other piece that underscores why Zellhuber feels destined to have a long, successful career in this sport is that he’s not in any kind of hurry to advance, which is also rare these days.
Listen to any interview with a regional fighter carrying UFC dreams and they’re likely to tell you that they should not only already be on the roster, but that they would run through everyone in the Top 15 tomorrow if given the opportunity, as well.
The champ? They’d beat them with ease.
Daniel Zellhuber Interview | UFC 306
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Daniel Zellhuber Interview | UFC 306
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What you hear less frequently are fighters acknowledging that time is on their side, and that gaining experience in the early days of their UFC tenure is a greater priority than making an expedient climb up the rankings, but that’s precisely the approach Zellhuber wants to continue to take.
“I still don’t want a Top 15 (opponent) because I’m 25 years old,” he said when asked what might come next should he push his winning streak to four with a victory over Ribovics this weekend. “But after a win at the Sphere, I might be one fight away.
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“I might get a Top 15 because with the UFC, you never know, so I’m just ready for whatever the UFC puts on the table. If they believe I’m already good or Top 15, I might take the fight. If they give me one more fight, it will be good for me; more experience, more fights.
“I feel that nowadays, everybody wants to go fast, but I feel it’s better to go step-by-step,” continued the Dana White’s Contender Series graduate. “Every fight I’ve been facing more difficult opponents, tougher competition, and I feel like Esteban is one step above my last fight. My next fight, I need to be one step above (this fight). I’m comfortable doing it that way because that allows me to keep learning, keep evolving, and I feel like that’s what you need to do in order to have a successful career here in the UFC.
“I’ve always had this mentality. Since I started very young — I made my professional debut at 17 — it’s always been step-by-step. I feel like I’m just trying to keep the same game plan. I try to keep it in the same line.”
Right now, that next step is Saturday’s clash with Ribovics, which serves as the second bout on the pay-per-view main card.
The Argentinian has followed a comparable path to Zellhuber to land as part of the historic event this weekend at Sphere, earning his contract with a first-round knockout win over Thomas Paull on Dana White’s Contender Series a year after his opponent this weekend before similarly dropping his promotional debut.
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Since then, “El Gringo” has posted back-to-back victories, most recently knocking out Terrance McKinney in just 34 seconds back in May.
“I feel that he is a great fighter,” Zellhuber said of his opponent. “He has a 15-1 record, and most of his fights have been stoppages. I know he’s aggressive, has very good hands, good wrestling, good jiu jitsu, but so do I.
“I’m fully confident in my abilities, especially with the wins I have building up to this fight,” he added. “I’ve already been here for two years, training, getting ready for this fight. He’s a very complete fighter, I’m a very complete fighter, so it’s gonna be a banger of a fight.”
And after earning a finish at T-Mobile Arena last September as part of the inaugural Noche UFC event, Zellhuber is excited to do so again for a second time this weekend, and he truly believes that he’ll produce another finish this time around.
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“It’s very special because I feel it’s because of my past performances that I have the opportunity to represent Mexico in The Sphere,” he said. “I know that it’s a unique event that is only going to happen once in a lifetime, so, for me, being able to come here and put on a show for the Mexican fans against a very tough opponent in Esteban Ribovics — I’m very excited and I’m gonna put on a show.
“I’m gonna be the first one to knock out Esteban Ribovics,” he added confidently. “I’ve been visualizing this, I’ve been manifesting this, and I know it’s gonna happen.”
UFC 306: O'Malley vs Dvalishvili took place live from Sphere in Las Vegas, Nevada on September 14, 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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