Athletes
Fernando Padilla Charts His Course
“El Valiente” Has A Clear Plan To Break Into The Featherweight Rankings
After taking less than two minutes to defeat Julian Erosa last April, Fernando Padilla was riding high. He was 1-0 in the UFC, took out a legit foe in the first round, and ready for the world.
Then came a decision loss to Kyle Nelson five months later and “El Valiente” had to take a moment to reevaluate things and realize that leaving matters in the judges’ hands could cost you sometimes.
“I trained so hard and I knew I could finish that fight,” said Padilla. “I knew what I wanted, but hey, that's the problem with leaving it to the judges.”
It was a competitive fight, with Padilla largely competing on even terms with the Canadian vet. But when it was over, the three judges sided with Nelson, and Padilla referred back to something people told him after the Erosa fight.
“Even since my first fight in the UFC with Julian, a lot of people told me that I need to be a little more aggressive, more with that killer instinct - finish it, finish it, don't be too nice.”
Padilla is a nice guy, and he does admit that maybe it’s something he needs to address on fight night when it comes to pressing the action for all 15 minutes.
Saturday's Full Fight Card Preview
“Me personally, I think I did really good,” he said of the Erosa fight. “I stopped when the referee told me to stop, but there's people who really want to see me just constantly going until the referee pretty much grabs me and throws me away because he cannot take me away from my opponent. So maybe I need to be better at that. And I feel like the fight with Kyle showed me that maybe a little bit more pressure and maybe a little bit more determination to finish that fight was what I needed.”
Maybe. Or maybe it was just a case of “styles make fights” and Padilla didn’t make his adjustments in time. It happens, especially at this level, when everybody is a top-level fighter willing to do whatever it takes to win.
“I go back and study the fight, and it's not like I wasn't putting pressure on,” he said. “It's not like I was just dancing around. I think even in the third round, when my coach told me that I have to go and win that round, I still went and put that pressure on. He was constantly going back and I was the one with the pressure always. So, I don't know man, it's just a question of studying and getting better. I feel that it doesn't matter if it’s a loss or a win. I always try to get better, improve and be a different fighter for the next fight.”
Main Event Spotlight: UFC Fight Night: Ribas vs Namajunas
That next fight is this Saturday against highly touted Dana White’s Contender Series graduate Luis Pajuelo and, this time, it’s Padilla with the experience edge, both in the Octagon and overall in the pro game. So will it be the Mexico native charging his Peruvian foe and going for another Erosa-esque performance, or will he play the points game? For Padilla, it doesn’t matter, as long as he gets his hand raised in victory. And that’s not as easy as it sounds in a sport where you can’t ease into a fight and give up a round or two like you can in boxing. But, for the moment, Padilla is fine with having 15 minutes to get the job done.
“When you’re inside the cage, five minutes is a long time,” he said. “There are people who don't have the ability to maintain the same pace for five minutes. There are people who take time to create that flow. They're slow in the first round. But, to be honest with you, 15 minutes sounds like nothing, but inside the cage it is a long time. In boxing, you have 12 rounds, you can give back some rounds, maybe study your opponent. And, obviously you have only two weapons to care about and you're able to finesse it a little bit more. But in MMA, you have kicks, you have knees, you have elbows, you have the punches, you have the takedowns. So there's a lot of things to care about. And I feel that those 15 minutes are enough.”
Padilla laughs, not interested in Merab Dvalishvilli’s suggestion to have 10-round fights in the Octagon. But perhaps he’s right; maybe 15 minutes is enough to figure out an opponent and get him out of there. And with 20 pro fights, he should know better than we do. It’s that experience that puts him ahead of a lot of his peers in the featherweight division, and something a foe who hasn’t been there and done that can’t buy.
Fighters on the Rise | UFC Fight Night: Ribas vs Namajunas
For example, how many competitors in the early stages of their UFC career have had the unique experience of fighting outdoors? In a park? In Hawaii?
“It was just a park outside with a cage in the middle and then you can see people watching the fights from the outside,” Padilla laughs when recalling his 2017 win in Honolulu over Jeffrey Mesa. “We were going to fight in the arena because they wanted the UFC to come to Hawaii, so they were going to do a test run. It was a perfect setup for us. And then when we got there, the arena was not booked.”
So the park it was. That was life on the regional scene back then, and in a lot of instances it still is. And while Padilla will be indoors at the APEX this weekend, those dues-paying days won’t ever leave him. That past is a good thing for his future.
“I have my goals set,” Padilla said of his 2024 plans. “I want to win this fight, make it to the September 16 card, make a statement over there, and then, if it's not by the end of this year, by the start of the next year, get another fight and get closer to the rankings. And by 2025, be in the rankings.”
UFC Fight Night: Ribas vs Namajunas took place on March 23, 2024 live from UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada. See the final Prelim and Main Card Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC Fight Pass!
Tags
