Jose Valenzuela sets up a rematch with Edwin De Los Santos on Zuffa Boxing 08

Jose Valenzuela is preparing to face Edwin De Los Santos again, this time with the benefit of hindsight from their first meeting. The matchup is slated for Zuffa Boxing 08, under the UFC’s boxing platform, and it arrives with a built-in storyline: Valenzuela’s first pro defeat came at De Los Santos’ hands in 2022, before Valenzuela later found a way to get the better of him and set up a proper rematch.

The concept of a rematch often separates “one-off” results from evolving résumés, and UFC’s coverage frames this fight as the chance to settle unfinished business. For Valenzuela, the stakes are not just about avenging a loss. It is also about confirming that the victory he secured after that setback was not a fluke and that he has the adjustments to answer a familiar opponent a second time.

From a career-building standpoint, Valenzuela’s angle is particularly compelling because the first encounter ended with an upset result. That matters in combat sports when a fighter is still young enough in their pro development that every early chapter can influence how opponents prepare and how matchmakers view them. A rematch against the same adversary tends to reveal whether a fighter’s growth is sustainable, or whether the earlier win was simply the product of a specific matchup dynamic.

UFC’s boxing announcements emphasize “Run It Back” as the theme, underscoring that the fight is designed to revisit a prior shock outcome and put it in a broader context. In other words, it is not presented as a random scheduling repeat. It is a sequel built on a clear prior narrative: De Los Santos beat Valenzuela in 2022, then later Valenzuela secured a victory in his first Zuffa Boxing bout, which is what now places the two on a collision course again.

For De Los Santos, the rematch is a chance to reclaim control of a rivalry that already includes at least one significant swing in momentum. When a fighter’s most defining early event is a loss, future meetings become about consistency and confirmation. For De Los Santos, the question will be whether he can reproduce the elements that worked the first time, while accounting for whatever Valenzuela has shown since that turning point.

Zuffa Boxing events function as a spotlight stage for fighters seeking to convert momentum into positioning inside the UFC ecosystem. Rematches on these cards are especially notable because they can tighten the rankings logic for matchmakers, even when formal rankings are not the primary public framing. With Valenzuela and De Los Santos already connected by 2022 and by their subsequent first-round career chapters, the fight provides a more direct read on who is moving forward and how quickly each fighter adapts.