Kevin Vallejos is not your ordinary UFC rookie.
On top of being a very bright prospect and MMA Junkie’s 2025 Newcomer of the Year, “El Chino” has a different outlook than most fighters in their early 20s. A good chunk of UFC newcomers want to fight on big cards, get big-name opponents and generate as much buzz as possible in hopes of making a quick rise to the top for more fame, legacy and better pay. Although Vallejos (17-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC) has those same ambitions, his timeline and urge to achieve them is much different.
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In just his fourth fight in the promotion, Vallejos headlines his first UFC event, fighting veteran contender featherweight Josh Emmett at Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 269 (Paramount+) in Las Vegas. He’s grateful for the spot, but he originally wanted a more low-key matchup against Cub Swanson, who’s lower in the rankings than Emmett.
Why? Well, Vallejos is looking at the bigger picture.
“I think because I’ll be able to stay longer in the company,” Vallejos told Hablemos MMA in Spanish when asked why he wasn’t necessarily interested in headlining and fighting in the rankings. “I feel like once you become champion, well, the division is going through a renovation period. There are many good prospects, and a lot of prospects who are 25, 26 are entering the top of the division. Everything is changing. So for me to be able to stay at such a high level requires experience, and I would love to have more experience, so I can maintain at the top. I don’t just want to win a title and lose it in my next fight. I don’t want that.
“I want to be at the top for a while and be someone who can hold on to the title like (Alexander) Volkanovski. He has all the experience in the world. He doesn’t win his fights because he’s the tallest or the strongest or the toughest. He’s got the most experience, and he’s able to stay on top with experience. Diego Lopes, he’s a giant prospect with KO power and incredible jiu-jitsu, and Volkanovski’s experience shined in that fight. I want that. I don’t want to be someone who’s just a hard hitter and gets the knockouts with luck. I want the experience of knowing how to manage a five-round fight, how to fight on the ground, in the striking. I want all that.”
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Alexander Volkanovski, arguably the greatest featherweight of all time and one of the most dominant champions in modern era, won the title when he was 31 and held on to it for five title defenses. He lost the belt in 2024 but recovered it last year and defended it in February.
Vallejos, 24, looks at Volkanovski’s career as a good example he’d like to model his career after.
“He got into the company a lot older, so he became a champion a lot older,” Vallejos said. “I came in with 23 years, so I have the time to become champion at 27, 28 and be able to stay at the top for several years and then see what I do with my life. But I’d like to have a good amount of experience at 27, so I can be fighting for a title and stay at the top.”
Since debuting for the promotion in March 2025, Vallejos has already fought three times and will be logging in his fourth UFC fight just one day before completing his first year in the Las-Vegas-based promotion. Vallejos is thankful and proud of what he’s been able to achieve, but he’d like to slow things down moving forward.
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“I’ve been very active and fighting a lot,” Vallejos said. “I obviously like it, but I also want to focus on improving. I think camp after camp I’ve tried to learn different things and improve, but I want to take my time to get better. I’m not asking for a year off, but maybe a couple of months so I can learn something new, improve, and continue growing. I think fightig a little less or more spread out compared to last year, that would be a win for me.”
All in all, Vallejos is a happy man. He understands the hype and expectations he’s built among the fans and UFC brass. The Argentine is excited to fight Emmett and take a step forward in his fighting career.
“Honestly I’m good with the fight,” Vallejos said. “Yeah, it’s not what I had asked for. A lot of people complained that I asked for Cub Swanson, but people don’t understand that I want experience, that I want to keep growing and also Cub Swanson, at his best, he beat Charles Oliveira when he was fighting at featherweight. He’s not a nobody. He’s a good fighter. Today, Josh Emmett is also a fighter with a lot of experience, and it’s going to add me a ton. He’s obviously more dangerous, but he is 41 and I’m 24. It’s a fight of experience vs. youth.”
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Kevin Vallejos wants slower UFC rise: ‘I have time to become champ’
