Winnipeg, MB — Robert Valentin put in two camps ahead of his fight with Julien Leblanc at UFC Winnipeg, after pulling out of his last bout.
The circumstances were difficult, but in the end, the extra time was a big benefit. Moving from Thailand to the U.S., “I needed some time to adapt here, find my place, find my people,” he explained on Saturday, speaking with Cageside Press and other media outlets following his submission of Leblanc at the Canada Life Centre.
After meeting coach Dewey Cooper, Valentin (11-6) settled in, and there was “no way I was going to leave this octagon without my hand raised today.”
Valentin went through horrific tragedy ahead of his planned fight with Jackson McVey last year. The Swiss middleweight learned during fight week that his mother had died suddenly, yet chose not to pull out of the fight, only to be forced to withdraw anyway.
Asked if he’d considered pulling out of the bout following her death, Valentin told Cageside Press “No. Plain and simple, no. My mom raised a soldier, not a b*tch. She didn’t raise a b*tch. And she always encouraged me to follow my dreams. There was no thought of— no.”
“Imagine this: My last fight camp, Monday of Fight Week, my mom dies. I get the call, ‘hey, your mom had a heart attack, we found her, she’s dead.’ I’m like ‘okay.'”
Valentin was able to find some motivation, “energy” as he put it, in the tragedy. Then, the following day, Valentin’s back seized up. For two days, he couldn’t move, which complicated his weight cut. Specialists at the UFC Performance Institute told him “you cannot make weight if you cannot get on the bike.”
He tried for two days regardless, but not being able to get on the bike meant he couldn’t get his weight down. Which in turn meant he couldn’t fight. The bout was off.
“When it kicked in that I’m not gonna fight on Saturday, I knew in my head, I’m going to carry this motivation, this energy to my next fight no matter what, and I kept it inside of me the whole time. Okay my family knew, some people knew, but I never spoke about it, I never got emotional,” Valentin revealed. “The first time I cried since my mom died was tonight. Because I kept it inside of me, because I’m not going to let anyone see any weakness in me. Because this is the hurt business, we try to hurt each other, I’m not going to show weakness.”
“This fight is dedicated to my mom because she always knew I’m a fighter, she always knew I’m a warrior. And she would have wanted me to follow my dreams, don’t become a f*cking bitch, don’t p*ssy out. No matter what happens, you can cry afterward, but get that job done. Don’t show weakness to anyone. And that’s what I did and I know she’s watching and she’s proud.”
With his back to the wall, winless inside the octagon, Valentin went in and got the job done at UFC Winnipeg. Earned his first UFC victory. And his mother would no doubt be proud.
Watch the full UFC Winnipeg post-fight press conference with Robert Valentin above.
