Adriano Yanez had a number next to his name, but a recent two-fight skid has sent him back into the ranks of unranked UFC bantamweights.
After signing with Dana White’s Contender Series promotion in 2020, Yanez (17-5 MMA, 6-2 UFC) looked like one of the best prospects the show has ever signed. He destroyed his first five UFC opponents, scoring four stoppages, and earned a promotional ranking in the process.
Then came some obstacles along the way, or “two mistakes”, as Yanez calls it.
First, Rob Font dropped Yanez with a right hook in the first round in the first stoppage loss of his career. Six months later, Jonathan Martinez slashed repeatedly with leg kicks to not only win by TKO, but also cause a torn MCL that required surgery to repair.
Yanez made a full recovery and returned at UFC Fight Night 241, stopping Vinicius Salvador in the first round with solid punches. It was a successful return and another highlight for his reel, but Yanez knows there is more work to be done before returning to the rankings.
“I was in the top 15, I lost to two top 15s,” Yanez told MMA Junkie Radio. “I have the ethics of the worker’s mind in my head. Just as I made two mistakes, now I have to make three mistakes. I have to go there and for every five steps back, I have to take 10 steps forward in a sense.
“I felt like I didn’t deserve it – especially with a guy like Salvador, do I deserve to fight a guy who’s in the top 15 after knocking him out? A guy coming in at 125, 0-2 in the UFC, do I deserve to fight a top 15 guy? I don’t think that really gives me a spot to fight a guy who’s in the top 15. Of course, I went out there and did what I was supposed to do with him. This is me looking at this objectively.
If Yanez could choose his path, the ideal fight would be against former flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo, who has been on the rise since moving up permanently to bantamweight.
However, Yanez is honest with himself and knows that his next fight will be another name that can create an exciting fight, but will be an opponent currently outside the top 15. Colleagues like Daniel Santos and Victor Henry were names on the tip of his tongue, and if he could face any of them at the Sphere in Las Vegas, that would be icing on the cake.
“If I could come in and fight Figgy, that would be amazing, but I’m also looking at it objectively,” Yanez said.
“Am I going to get a fight with Figgy? Probably not. Am I going to get a guy like José Aldo? No, I’m not. Will I get Petr Yan? No, I’m not. I’d like to fight a top 15 guy, don’t get me wrong. If the name comes up, and it’s a top 15 guy – you’re going to tell me that you have a top 15 guy, or that you have Daniel Santos or Victor Henry, I’ll go for the top 15 guy every time.
