When
Ultimate Fighting Championship bantamweight contender
Adrian
Yanez kicks off his 2024 campaign, it will be interesting to
see what the La Porte, Texas, native has in store for the year. A
lot of that will ride on what happens when he faces
Vinicius
Salvador in a featured
UFC Fight Night 241 attraction this Saturday at the UFC Apex in
Las Vegas. Once the Octagon door shuts, Yanez needs to rise above
the two losses he suffered in 2023. With enough time to sit on the
setbacks, chew over them, brush himself off and get back in the
saddle, he figures to put forth a tenacious effort.
Ahead of his forthcoming battle with Salvador at 135 pounds, a look
at some of the rivalries that have helped shape Yanez’s career to
this point:
Yanez and Johns went to war for the vacant
Legacy Fighting Alliance bantamweight throne at
LFA
55. Johns executed his game plan flawlessly over 25 minutes,
pressuring Yanez against the cage and maintaining a pace that would
be conducive to his approach. “Chapo” proved to be the more
well-rounded fighter, executing swift takedowns in the second and
third rounds. In the standup exchanges, he scored at will with his
jab; and the volume striking approach severely compromised his
opponent’s strategy. Nevertheless, Yanez did not go down without a
fight. He kept switching stances and mounted a late rally that saw
him threaten his foe with a guillotine choke in the fifth. However,
Johns fended off the attempt and demonstrated resilience in the
ensuing scrambles. Ultimately, Yanez’s gallant effort fell short on
the judges’ scorecards, as Johns walked away with a split
decision.
When Yanez rose through the ranks of
Dana White’s Contender Series, the general accord among mixed
martial arts fans was unmistakable: The bantamweight division had a
fresh contender with undeniable talent. The American bulldozed
Brady
Huang in a 39-second technical knockout on DWCS Series in 2020
and kept the ball rolling with a head kick knockout of
Victor
Rodriguez in his UFC debut. Against Lopez, Yanez pieced
together a stellar boxing game, unleashing a thunderous right hand
that folded his opponent. No follow-up shots were required as he
stepped away with a confident strut, adding a walk-off knockout
victory to his highlight reel at UFC on ESPN 21.
Yanez’s fighting style has been compared to former UFC welterweight
title challenger
Jorge
Masvidal. While his approach carries the natural embellishments
of an explosive bantamweight with different frills, Yanez has never
particularly shied away from the comparisons. However,
UFC on ESPN 37 opponent
Tony Kelley
labeled him a “wish version” of Masvidal, which did not go down
well with Yanez. He felt a heightened impetus and drive to quash
his rival’s comments. Moreover, Kelley’s botched attempt at making
weight for the fight—he weighed 1.5 pounds over the bantamweight
limit—proved to be another catalyst for discord between the two
men. Yanez also revealed that some of the UFC staff members wanted
him to “destroy” Kelley inside the cage for his racially charged
“dirty f---ing Brazilians” remarks. During the fight, it was
Yanez’s fists that did the talking while Kelley was caught pedaling
backward. The avalanche of strikes took a toll on Kelley, and even
as Yanez secured the TKO at the 3:49 mark of the first round, he
stood his ground and maintained eye contact, possibly conveying
that the outcome was a direct repercussion of the unwarranted
remarks. In that win, Yanez secured his fifth straight post-fight
bonus.
Yanez made a big leap in competition when he took on Font at
UFC 287. The
Metro Fight Club rep proved to be the better fighter in the
initial exchanges, scoring heavily in the boxing range with his
jab. He kept battering Font’s face, and the accumulated damage
started to show on the New England Cartel ace. Undeterred, Font
cracked Yanez with an uppercut that wobbled the Texan. From there,
it was all Font, as he landed a right hook that sent Yanez crashing
to the canvas. He then followed him to the ground for a few more
shots, pounding out the finish at the 2:57 mark of the first round.