Athletes
Yadier del Valle | Houston's Featherweight Problem
Ascending Prospect Thrilled To Compete In Adopted Hometown This Weekend
Being around the host hotel in Houston has a very familiar feel for emerging featherweight Yadier del Valle, who makes his 2026 debut on Saturday night at the Toyota Center.
“It’s a beautiful thing and a beautiful feeling,” began del Valle, who worked alongside his father in the hotel during his early years in the city, and has now returned as an undefeated prospect competing at the highest level of the sport.
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“It’s proof of a person overcoming. When I came into this country, when I came into this city, I got a social security number to allow me to work as soon as possible. We worked for a company that assigned us to be in locations, and myself and my dad were assigned to here. I was working in the laundry facility, so I was down in the basement making sure everything was clean up here, but never forgetting the sport.
“It was always hand-in-hand — training and working all the time, always with the dream in my head to be here, to be a fighter. To be able to have done this and to be able to come back here now, as a fighter, in the UFC — to be able to enjoy a room where I once worked is a beautiful thing and proof that (all the hard work) has paid off. It’s an awesome feeling to have.
“I just want to say that this hotel, their room is impeccable,” he added with a smile. “It’s clean, it’s beautiful; it’s amazing.”
Just like his room, del Valle’s rookie campaign in the UFC was clean, as the Dana White’s Contender Series (DWCS) alum made two appearances, earning first-round stoppage wins over both Connor Matthews and Isaac Dulgarian to maintain his unblemished record and advance to 10-0 as a professional.
“I’m happy with the result,” del Valle said of his first year of work inside the Octagon. “We work hard, we prepare well, and that’s what we sat out to do. Myself, my team — what do we want? We want to get in there and get a significant and very forceful win. We want to have a convincing win as quickly as possible and get out of there.
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“Camp was great,” he added, pivoting to this weekend’s pairing with Jordan Leavitt. “I trained a lot, got ready for this to happen again — for us to go in there, dominate, and for us to come out with a win; that’s what you’re gonna see on Saturday as well.”
A fellow DWCS alum, Leavitt made his first eight UFC starts in the lightweight division, amassing a 5-3 record with four finishes, including an inverted triangle choke win over Matt Sayles and a brilliant anaconda choke against TUF winner Kurt Holobaugh last time out that earned him a fight night bonus.
While his move down to featherweight came as a bit of a surprise to some, getting matched up with the dangerous grappler is an all-too-familiar feeling for the undefeated Cuban prospect.
Yadier Del Valle Submits Connor Matthews In Round 1 | UFC Fight Night: Burns vs Morales
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Yadier Del Valle Submits Connor Matthews In Round 1 | UFC Fight Night: Burns vs Morales
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“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.
“I’m very happy, obviously, with the fight, and I’m very honored,” he said of competing at home. “I’m ready to put on a show on Saturday, show people and represent Houston.
“The fact that the UFC came here and to be in the city that made me a better fighter and watched me grow as a fighter from my amateur career to my pro career makes me very happy and I’m ready to put on a show for all of the people of Houston.
“I think it would be amazing — again, as a person overcoming — to actually achieve this as a Cuban fighter on such a big stage, a city like Houston, a place like Toyota Center and get that win is going to mean a lot to me. It gets me closer to my goals, gets me more into the organization, keeps me on the path I already am.
“And now with the bonuses,” he added, smirking. “Now with this news that Dana is giving more, we’re gonna be a little more motivated, so we’re gonna come out guns blazing.”
UFC Fight Night: Strickland vs Hernandez took place live from Toyota Center in Houston, Texas on February 21, 2026. 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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