Colbert vs Valenzuela Prediction: El Rayo’s Revenge
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Grant Young
After being treated to a thrilling, evenly-matched bout between these two fighters back in March, we're excited to write another Colbert vs Valenzuela prediction. Although Chris Colbert had his hand raised after the first time these two warriors faced off, it's anybody's guess how this highly-anticipated, co-main event rematch will conclude.
What's for sure is that Jose Valenzuela is confident as can be leading into this fight, and seems certain that he'll be able to right what was only the second loss in his professional career — which he believes he won. Yet, his Chris Colbert vs Jose Valenzuela prediction won't necessarily guarantee him a victory in Minnesota Saturday night.
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Chris Colbert Preview
Despite suffering what was considered to be a devastating loss when it took place in 2022, Chris “Prime Time” Colbert (17-1 record with six KO's) remains one of the most intriguing fighters in the super featherweight division. Although he is known to be something of a showman inside and outside of the ring, Colbert can certainly put his money where his mouth is — which was shown in his first fight against Jose Valenzuela.
Colbert proved his toughness by being able to fight through a devastating first round knockdown in that fight, along with a few other hard blows by Valenzuela (who is clearly the more powerful puncher between the two). Yet, Colbert, technical as he is, was able to respond by securing rounds with brutal body shots and a left hook that stunned Valenzuela multiple times.
Considering how their first fight started, one Colbert vs Valenzuela prediction we have is that Colbert will start this fight much more measured than last time, in order to see and react to his opponent's game plan. After the first few rounds, however, expect Colbert to start showing the left hook and body shots once more — maybe even winning enough rounds to finish this rematch victorious once again.
Jose Valenzuela Preview
One wonders whether Jose “El Rayo” Valenzuela (12-2 record with eight KO's) has recovered mentally from his razor-thin decision loss against Colbert back in March. In fact, if their pre-fight press conference and face-off is any indication, neither of these two fighters have let go of the bad blood that their fight in March produced.
But their first fight also displayed that Valenzuela has more power than Colbert — which was proven just a few minutes into the fight, when El Rayo knocked him down. That fact alone has got to give Valenzuela confidence leading into this rematch.
That being said, Valenzuela will need to make some adjustments if he wants to get his hand raised on Saturday. Despite starting off strong, he faded in the later rounds of the fight — which allowed Colbert to get the decision victory. Therefore, our Colbert vs Valenzuela prediction is that Valenzuela will employ a much more measured approach in the early rounds, while coming on stronger late. If Valenzuela can sustain his superior punching power across all 12 rounds of this fight, we could see him settle his vendetta with Colbert.
Chris Colbert vs Jose Valenzuela: Sweet, Sweet Revenge
Our official Colbert vs Valenzuela prediction is that Jose Valenzuela will defeat Chris Colbert.
Although the judges declared that Colbert won their first fight in March, we personally believe that Valenzuela did enough to earn the decision victory. Yet, that isn't why we think he'll win the rematch. Rather, we think Valenzuela — who is a slight -130 favorite — will bring a more measured approach this time around, which should allow him to sustain his punching power late into the fight; perhaps even earning a knockout in round 7-9, which is available at +750.
With that being said: we can't count out Chris Colbert. There's no question that Colbert will come out confident Saturday night, despite having nearly been knocked out by Valenzuela in the first round last time. While both fighters have had their fair share of temper flares throughout fight week, it has generally been Colbert whose been the more even-keel fighter heading into this rematch. For that reason, betting on Chris Colbert to repeat what he did last time and win by decision — currently available at +180 — is a solid option for those who believe Colbert can go 2-0 against Valenzuela.
With a whole new platform of potential viewers coming soon, whoever of Colbert and Valenzuela wins on Saturday should find themselves with a few more fight fans added to their fanbase in 2024.
Grant Young is a sports writer from San Francisco. He has had two professional Muay Thai fights: he got knocked out in one, and got a knockout in the other. When it comes to his favorite fighters, it's Israel Adesanya, and then it's everyone else.