Robert Valentin

The first round was a series of scrambles, and Valentin repeatedly found the dominant position. Todorovic tried to reverse position. Todorovic left his neck exposed while attempting the reversal. Valentin locked up a high-elbow guillotine. Todorovic tapped immediately at 4:14 of round one.

Key moments

• Valentin repeatedly found the dominant position during a scramble-heavy first round.
• Todorovic left his neck open while trying to reverse position.
• Valentin locked up the high-elbow guillotine and Todorovic tapped at 4:14 of round one.

Valentin pressed Leblanc with early strikes. After Leblanc sought a tie-up, Valentin took mount, moved to the back and finished with a rear-naked choke.

Key moments

• Early strikes put Leblanc on defense.
• Valentin advanced to mount.
• He took the back and completed the choke.

Valentin's third UFC loss was the quickest because Ateba Abega Gautier overwhelmed him almost immediately with punching flurries.

Open the full-fight video page for Ateba Abega Gautier, UFC 318 - Holloway vs. Poirier 3 →

Key moments

• Gautier hurt Valentin early with a left hand and another fast punching series.
• Valentin waved his opponent forward after being dropped, and Gautier answered with another finishing barrage.
• The stoppage came at 1:10 of round one by TKO due to punches.

Valentin started well enough in the TUF 32 final to threaten Ryan Loder's back, but the wrestling tide flipped and stayed flipped.

Key moments

• Valentin briefly took Loder's back in round one and hunted a rear-naked choke.
• Loder reversed position, rode out top control, then locked Valentin in crucifix in round two.
• The final stoppage came from elbows at 1:49 of the second round.

Valentin left little doubt in the rematch with Pietro Penini at Ares 14 by finishing him before the first round expired.

Key moments

• Beat Penini in their rematch on the main card of Ares 14 in Paris.
• Finished the fight with a rear-naked choke at 3:49 of round one.
• The win converted the unresolved 2022 no contest into a clear submission victory.

The first Penini meeting ended without a winner after an illegal-elbows call late in round two at Ares 9.

Key moments

• Faced Penini at Ares 9 before the rivalry was rerun in 2023.
• The bout was stopped and ruled a no contest because of illegal elbows at 4:34 of round two.
• The unresolved finish set up Valentin's later submission win over the same opponent.

The Rajic fight was one of Valentin's quickest nights because it ended only 39 seconds into the opener at Lions FC 9. A first-round knockout that fast gave him an emphatic follow-up after the Berkenbosch submission win earlier in 2021.

Key moments

• Needed only 39 seconds to knock out Rajic at Lions FC 9.
• The finish came in round one before the bout had any chance to settle.
• It gave Valentin consecutive regional wins during his 2021 rebuild.

The Ibo Aslan matchup was another hard regional test and it ended with Valentin stopped on punches early in round three.

Key moments

• Was stopped by punches at 1:36 of round three against Aslan.
• The fight took place at Austrian Fight Challenge 8 in late 2018.
• It was one of the regional setbacks Valentin had to reverse before his later five-fight surge.

Valentin proved he could bank rounds as well as hunt finishes by taking a unanimous decision over Alic Mensur at Innferno 3.

Key moments

• Won a unanimous decision over Mensur after three full rounds.
• The bout went the complete 15 minutes at Innferno 3.
• It stands out as Valentin's only decision win among his recorded professional victories.