LAS VEGAS – Adrian Yanez has ended the worst stretch in his fighting career, and he couldn’t be happier.
The UFC bantamweight went winless in 2023, getting stopped by Jonathan Martinez and Rob Font in two consecutive bouts. Yanez (17-5 MMA, 6-2 UFC) entered Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 241 determined to get back in the win column, and he did impressively. Yanez stopped Vinicius Salvador (14-7 MMA, 0-3 UFC) with a brutal right hand in the first round of their contest.
“It feels really, really good,” Yanez said at a post-fight news conference, reflecting on his big win. “Last year sucked. I can’t sugar coat it, it sucked for me. It really took a lot out of me, especially with having surgery at the end of the year and having to sit out a bit, and having to sit out with my own thoughts. Sitting on the machine and moving the leg for me, that really sucked, but it kind of made me realize that no one else is going to want it as bad as I do.
“I had to pick myself up by the bootstraps and get myself going. At the end of the day, it’s on me. I put myself in that position. It was my fault. My 2023 year was caused by me, and I have to pull myself out of that. No one else to blame but me and at the end of the day, 2024 right here, we’re five months into it, and I’m finally here. I’m really f*cking excited to get the victory, so yeah, I’m happy.”
Yanez doesn’t want to stop at Saturday’s win. He wants to keep rising in the ranks, and he’s hoping he gets an opportunity to do that at the UFC 306 pay-per-view expected to be held at The Sphere in Las Vegas.
“I had a couple of guys call me out,” Yanez said. “I know John Castañeda has a really tough fight in front of him, Daniel Marcos. Daniel Santos, though, on the other hand, doesn’t have a fight book, so in The Sphere, I wouldn’t mind that at all. That would be fun. Also, Victor Henry looked really good in his last fight, I think that would be one for the fans. I think the fans would actually love that.
“But all of this to me, it doesn’t matter, it’s all respect except for the two that called me out, so all love. I’m going to go out here and fighter everyone hard, so it is what it is.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 241.
