Tag: Adrian Yanez

Jonathan Martinez sees win over Adrian Yanez boosting career, leading to top 10

Jonathan Martinez is looking to capitalize on the opportunity of facing Adrian Yanez.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Jonathan Martinez[/autotag] is looking to capitalize on the opportunity of facing [autotag]Adrian Yanez[/autotag].

Martinez (18-4 MMA, 9-3 UFC) meets Yanez (16-4 MMA, 5-1 UFC) in a bantamweight bout in Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 230 main card at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The event streams on ESPN+.

Martinez sees a win over a fan favorite like Yanez give him more recognition, and a higher spot in the rankings.

“A win with this, it’s going to help a lot,” Martinez told MMA Junkie and other reporters at a pre-fight news conference Wednesday. “I could go up to the top 10 and stuff.”

Yanez suffered his first octagon loss in April when he was knocked out by Rob Font. Prior to that, he won nine straight fights – including bonuses in his first five UFC wins.

Martinez has quietly climbed up the rankings, scoring a marquee finish of Cub Swanson in his most recent outing last October. He explained how his booking with Yanez came together.

“He’s a really good opponent,” Martinez said. “When his name came up, because we were all hanging out at International Fight Week, but I know he was looking for an opponent. I was looking for one too, and then: Now we’re fighting.”

Watch Martinez’s full pre-fight interview in the video above.

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 230.

Adrian Yanez ‘got away’ from himself in first UFC loss: ‘I forgot who I had in front of me’

UFC bantamweight contender Adrian Yanez had a rude reminder he’s not invincible last time out – a lesson he’ll take with him.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Adrian Yanez[/autotag] didn’t want to wait this long to return, but the silver lining is he’s had plenty of time to assess how he screwed up last time out.

Ahead of his UFC Fight Night 230 fight Saturday, Yanez (16-4 MMA, 5-1 UFC) has waited over six months to get his chance to prove he’s learned from the mistakes he made in his UFC 287 loss to Rob Font in April. Yanez lost by first-round TKO, his first UFC defeat.

“I got away from myself,” Yanez told MMA Junkie and other reporters at a pre-fight news conference Wednesday. “I wasn’t doing the right things. I was doing the right things in that first minute. But again, it’s only one minute of the fight, one minute of the fight. As soon as I got him rocked, I instantly tried to go for the kill.

“It was that weird thing because leading up to the fight, I was like, ‘I know who I have in front of me. This guy is a f*cking cockroach. He doesn’t die. He just won’t f*cking die.’ I said that with the utmost respect. That’s no disrespect to Rob. That’s a compliment, because not a lot of guys can do that. But yeah, I forgot who I had in front of me.”

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Yanez was frustrated with the defeat from seconds after the referee pulled Font off him. His anger was referenced on the broadcast and Yanez later revealed the person he was solely mad at was himself.

The disappointment still exists, but he’s channeled it in a way he feels proper ahead of his bout on Saturday vs. Factory X bantamweight Jonathan Martinez (18-4 MMA, 9-3 UFC).

“I had to go back and work on the basics,” Yanez said. “I had to work on the mental part as well, too. Because I’ve got to stay within my game plan. If it’s working, keep letting it work, you know? … Just being able to mentally stay within a game plan or mentally don’t just throw everything out the window, you know?”

“… To me, it’s going to be fun for the fans. It’s going to be really, really fun for the fans because we’re both strikers. We both want to knock each other out. The way I see the fight playing out obviously is me getting my hand raised. It’s going to be fun, though. It’s going to be really, really fun.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 230.

Video: ‘UFC Fight Night 230: Yusuff vs. Barboza’ media day interviews

Before UFC Fight Night 230 on Saturday, watch as the main card athletes fighters speak to reporters at media day.

LAS VEGAS – UFC Fight Night 230, which takes place at the UFC Apex with a card that streams entirely on ESPN+, goes down Saturday.

Before fight night arrives, though, notable athletes from the main card spoke to reporters Wednesday at media day.

If you happen to miss any of the individual sessions on the live stream, check below for the archived videos of each media day.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 230.

UFC Fight Night 230 pre-event facts: Edson Barboza’s dazzling KO credentials

The best facts and figures about UFC Fight Night 230, which features one of the greatest knockout artists of all time in the main event.

The UFC’s loaded October schedule continues on Saturday with UFC Fight Night 230, which takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and streams on ESPN+.

Ranked featherweights collide in the main event, and there’s major potential for a violent ending. [autotag]Sodiq Yusuff[/autotag] (13-2 MMA, 6-1 UFC) will look to add a signature win to his resume when he takes on octagon legend [autotag]Edson Barboza[/autotag] (23-11 MMA, 17-11 UFC) in a showdown scheduled for five rounds.

For more on the numbers behind the headliner, as well as the rest of the card, check below for MMA Junkie’s pre-event facts about UFC Fight Night 230.

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Matchup Roundup: New UFC and Bellator fights announced in the past week (July 31-Aug. 6)

All the UFC and Bellator fight announcements that were first reported or confirmed by MMA Junkie in the past week.

MMA fight announcements are hard to follow. With so many outlets and channels available, it’s nearly impossible to organize.

But here at MMA Junkie, we’ve got your back.

Each week, we’ll compile all the newly surfaced fights in one spot. Every Monday, expect a feature listing everything you might have missed from the UFC or Bellator.

Here are the fight announcements that were broken or confirmed by MMA Junkie or officially announced by a promotion from July 31-Aug. 6.

UFC books Jonathan Martinez vs. Adrian Yanez bantamweight fight in October

A pair of ranked UFC bantamweights are set to meet in a pivotal clash this fall. 

A pair of ranked UFC bantamweights are set to meet in a pivotal clash this fall.

[autotag]Jonathan Martinez[/autotag], No. 13 in the official 135-pound rankings, and No. 14 [autotag]Adrian Yanez[/autotag] are set to square off Oct. 14 at a UFC Fight Night event slated for the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. A person with knowledge of the situation confirmed the news to MMA Junkie on Monday after an initial report by ESPN Deportes.

Martinez (18-4 MMA, 9-4 UFC) will look to extend his winning streak to six fights. His current run consists of victories over Zviad Lazishvili, Alejandro Perez, Vince Morales, Cub Swanson, and most recently Said Nurmagomedov. Martinez took a unanimous decision from Nurmagomedov this past March at UFC Fight Night 221.

Yanez (16-4 MMA, 5-1 UFC) hopes to rebound after suffering a tough first-round TKO loss to Rob Font this past April at UFC 287. A victory would’ve been a huge career step for Yanez, who instead had his nine-fight winning streak snapped. It was his first loss in the UFC.

With the addition, the updated UFC Fight Night lineup on Oct. 14 includes:

  • Irina Alekseeva vs. Melissa Dixon
  • Emily Ducote vs. Ashley Yoder
  • Edson Barboza vs. Sodiq Yusuff
  • Jonathan Martinez vs. Adrian Yanez

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Adrian Yanez eyes return on UFC’s Sept. 16 Mexican Independence Day event: ‘I want to get really active’

Adrian Yanez has been chomping at the bit to return after suffering his first octagon loss.

[autotag]Adrian Yanez[/autotag] has been chomping at the bit to return after his first octagon loss.

Yanez (16-4 MMA, 5-1 UFC) was stopped by first-round TKO against Rob Font at UFC 287 in April. It was a tough pill to swallow for the red hot bantamweight prospect, but Yanez is ready to climb his way back up.

Prior to the Font loss, Yanez was on a nine-fight winning streak with seven finishes.

“I’ve been hammering for a fight for a month already,” Yanez told MMA Junkie Radio. “Once I got cleared by the doctor, I immediately got off the phone with the doctor, got on the phone with my manager Jason, and I was like, ‘Hey, what’s up? What are we doing? What’s next?’ and trying to get something going.

“I know for the longest time, the division was kind of being held up with what Henry (Cejudo) was going to do. Is Henry going to fight (Marlon) ‘Chito’ (Vera)? Is he going to fight Merab (Dvalishvili)? And I think that was up in the air for like a month. I was sitting back trying to wait like, ‘Hey what am I going to do? I’m not up there, I’m back here. What am I doing?'”

Yanez is OK fighting backward in the rankings, just as long as it’s someone with momentum. He’s hoping to compete on the UFC’s rumored Mexican Independence Day card Sept. 16, which takes place at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas and streams on ESPN+.

“I’ll fight somebody just outside the top 15 who deserves to be in the top 15 if nobody in my general area (of the rankings) is trying to get matched up,” Yanez said. “I don’t mind fighting. I just want to start getting active because I’ve only fought once in a year, and I don’t like that feeling.

“I want to fight again. I want to get really active. The last I heard, Sept. 16 might be a date, but I told them it’s either Sept. 16 or before. I’m already training. I’m already looking to get back in there, so hopefully I hear some news soon.”

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Daniel Santos wants Adrian Yanez for rumored UFC Sao Paulo card, Yanez responds

Daniel Santos is ready for a fight against a ranked UFC opponent, and he wants it in his home country.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Daniel Santos[/autotag] is ready for a ranked opponent, and he wants it in his home country.

Santos (11-2 MMA, 2-1 UFC) defeated Johnny Munoz via unanimous decision this past Saturday at UFC on ESPN 45 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Training out of Chute Boxe Diego Lima alongside former champion Charles Oliveira, Santos hopes to land on the rumored Brazil card in Sao Paulo in November.

“I want to fight as soon as possible,” Santos told MMA Junkie and other reporters through an interpreter. “To be honest, I would love fighting next week with my brother Charles Oliveira, but I know it’s probably not gonna happen. I’m gonna be ready whenever the UFC wants me to fight. I’ve heard some rumors that UFC is going back to Sao Paulo in November, and it would be a dream to fight there because I live there.”

Santos is eyeing [autotag]Adrian Yanez[/autotag] (16-4 MMA, 5-1 UFC), who’s coming off his first octagon loss to Rob Font in April.

“Right now when I was checking, there’s one guy in the rankings, Adrian Yanez, and I want to be in the rankings,” Santos said. “So, I think it would be a good name to fight there in Sao Paulo.

Yanez responded, but would rather fight much sooner.

“Let’s go July or August,” he tweeted. “… “Not trying to wait around. I waited a year just to fight. Can’t do that again.”

 

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 45.

Adrian Yanez clarifies post-fight emotion after UFC 287 loss: ‘I was yelling at myself because I f*cked up’

Adrian Yanez was angry with himself, not his corner, like Daniel Cormier thought, after his knockout loss to Rob Font at UFC 287 in Miami.

[autotag]Adrian Yanez[/autotag] was angry with himself after he suffered his first octagon setback at UFC 287.

Yanez was knocked out by Rob Font on this past Saturday’s main card at Kaseya Center in Miami. The 29-year-old was a sizable favorite going into the fight, but was upset by Font, who stopped him in Round 1.

Yanez (16-4 MMA, 5-1 UFC) posted a statement on Twitter to express his disappointment in the outcome.

“I’m sorry guys. Camp was great, coaches put it all together, and my weight cut was good. I f*cked up on my end. I’m utterly disappointed and disgusted in my performance… I’ll be back.”

Yanez was seen yelling in the cage immediately after he was stopped. Analyst Daniel Cormier identified it as potential anger toward his corner on the pay-per-view broadcast, but Yanez clarified it was frustration toward the outcome.

“Just to clarify. Saw some things saying I was yelling at my coaches or saying it was early stoppage. Not true, I was yelling, but I was yelling at myself cause I f*cked up. Good sh*t @RobSFont hope you get that figgy fight. Thanks everybody for overwhelming positive feedback 🙏🏽.”

With the loss, Yanez saw his nine-fight winning streak snapped. Prior to the Font setback, Yanez had post-fight bonuses in all five of his UFC wins with finishes in four of them.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 287.

UFC 287 post-event facts: Israel Adesanya makes history as two-time divisional champ

Check out the stats to come out of UFC 287, where Israel Adesanya made history by doing something no middleweight had ever done.

The UFC’s long-awaited return to Miami after more than two decades delivered a memorable moment with Israel Adesanya making history by reclaiming middleweight gold from Alex Pereira in the UFC 287 headliner at Kaseya Center.

Adesanya (24-2 MMA, 13-2 UFC) avenged his TKO loss to Pereira (7-2 MMA, 4-1 UFC) from November with a highlight-reel second-round knockout in the main event to become the first two-time titleholder in the storied 185-pound division.

For more on the numbers behind Adesanya’s win, as well as the rest of the card, check below for MMA Junkie’s post-event facts from UFC 287.