This fight should be exciting while also hopefully answering some
questions. Valdez brings entertainment if nothing else, though it
is unclear how much success he will have at the UFC level.
“Rayadito” rode a string of quick wins to a UFC contract via Dana
White’s Contender Series, but there are some red flags. A lot of
his success relied on a wrestling threat that may not be there
against better competition, and while Valdez managed to score a
second-round finish on DWCS, he looked absolutely exhausted by the
time that fight was over. That last point was not a problem in his
January debut against Matt
Frevola, because things did not even get that far. The two men
combined for about three minutes of absolute war until Frevola took
things over—he stifled Valdez’s wrestling in the process—and
prompted a stoppage. Valdez looks to rebound against Israel’s Levy,
who is an interesting challenge with his own issues. Levy is
obviously a standout athlete, and his entire game revolves around
leveraging that fact. Levy’s offense is built on explosive moments,
whether it is powerful single strikes or high-amplitude wrestling.
That was enough for Levy to work his way through the regional scene
without much difficulty, but the cracks have started to show a bit
against better competition. Opponents have been less cowed by the
athleticism and danger that Levy brings to the table, forcing him
into much tougher fights and showing that his gas tank tends to
fade a bit down the stretch. The only sure thing in this fight
figures to be Valdez finding plenty of early success with his
aggression and volume, but it is unclear how everything else plays
out. Levy has not really had to survive an opponent who is willing
to send things completely off the rails like Valdez, and it is
uncertain who is going to tire first if this starts off as an
all-out war. Valdez gets the narrow nod if only because his hot
start is the surest thing to bet on, but it would not be a shock if
this went any number of ways. The pick is Valdez via decision.
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