Adrian Yanez has ‘big aspirations’ for his future in the UFC
When UFC bantamweight Adrian Yanez (13-3) spoke with Behind The Grind, he stated that he’s “still on cloud nine” after his TKO win against Gustavo Lopez (12-6) at UFC Vegas 22 in March.
Yanez knocked down Lopez with a right hand that sent him face first onto the ground. He admitted that he thought the fight would be more challenging than it was. “I expected it to be a little bit more difficult. If I was being quite honest with you, I expected a little bit more wrestling, a little bit more of a faster pace. Going into that second and third round, I thought I was going to be breathing heavily. During the fight I just heard him breathing the whole entire time.”
“The rapid breathing kind of feeling like he was the one drowning. For me I felt really good in there. It gave me a lot more confidence. I knew I had cardio, but in a fight that’s like a high-pressure stake like in the UFC. I was fighting against somebody who’s a really tough opponent and going into that third round and still not feeling tired. Still feeling like I can go five more rounds at that pace, it gave me a confidence boost.”
The Texas native had nothing but praise for his opponent though. “A tough guy like Gustavo, I don’t think he gets the credit he deserves man,” said Yanez. “He’s a powerful puncher, he has really good submissions and over all he is a really good MMA fighter. I was able to go in there an shut him down. He’s top level, he’s really top notch.”
Yanez won a contract on DWCS 2020: Week 2 after a quick KO win over Brady Huang (11-2). Now the 27-year-old is 2-0 in the UFC with two finishes and two 50K bonuses. Yanez said he is still getting used to the idea that his dream of being in the UFC is now a reality. “It still kind of takes me by moments every once in a while. To be like, ‘dude I’m in the UFC’. I worked hard to get here. It’s still pretty freaking cool that I get to be like ‘man I worked hard. I’m here in the UFC.’ This is badass.”
The Texas native also remarked that he expects to remain in the organization for a long time. “I’ve always told myself there are a lot of people that get into the UFC just so they can say I’m a UFC fighter. My biggest aspiration is I want to be a UFC fighter, but also I want to have ten plus fights in the UFC. I don’t want to be the one contract and done guy. I want to be the guy that’s in there for a long time. I want longevity in the UFC. I want to go in there and set records. I have big aspirations.”
Average Rating