EDWIN DE LOS SANTOS’ MANAGER ADRIAN CLARK TO APPEAL RESULT OF REMATCH AGAINST JOSE VALENZUELA

LAS VEGAS – June 30, 2026 – Fighters First Management CEO Adrian Clark, the manager for Edwin De Los Santos, has announced his intent to appeal the results of De Los Santos’ loss to Jose Valenzuela this past Sunday with the Nevada Athletic Commission, after replays show Valenzuela throwing and connecting with a punch after De Los Santos was already down.

“Rules are rules. It doesn’t matter where the shot landed or how hard it was,” said Clark. “When a fighter is on a knee or down, it is illegal to hit him. Edwin was robbed of the opportunity to recover from the blatantly illegal shot.

“It’s my job to make this appeal. The punch that knocked him down was a good shot by Valenzuela. However, if De Los Santos was out, the referee would have immediately waived the count and called the fight. Everyone watching that fight knows that is a foul.

“My petition is based around the protection of fighters. If the commission for the state that lands a majority of the big fights says that an illegal shot has no bearing on the outcome of a fight, that’s a problem for the sport.”

Clark also pointed out that when De Los Santos and Valenzuela first met in 2022, De Los Santos was penalized for hitting Valenzuela while he was down.

“A situation similar to this occurred in their first fight. Edwin landed a punch after Valenzuela was through the ropes. The difference is, the foul was recognized, called, Edwin was deducted a point and Valenzuela had time to recover.”

De Los Santos stated that no matter how the process plays out, he plans to pursue another fight with Valenzuela to settle the score for good.

“I will let the appeal go through the proper channels, but I am not going to focus on the illegal hit,” said De Los Santos. “I got caught with a good shot. I was stunned, but not hurt. I won’t make any excuses. Eventually I’m going to get the opportunity to fight him again.”

For additional information on Fighters First Management, visit www.fightersfirst.com.