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In an exclusive interaction with News18 Sports, Adrian Yanez talks about his upcoming bout in the UFC and how putting pressure on himself drives be to push forward even more, making him a better fighter.
Adrian Yanez takes on the undefeated Daniel Marcos. (Image: X)
The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) bantamweight division’s Adrian Yanez will take on the undefeated Daniel Marcos as both unranked fighters look to possibly make the jump into the top-15 rankings, thus making strides in a potential championship run.
Yanez makes his return after seven months where he aims to continue his winning momentum after his first-round knockout win over Vinicius Salvador in May, earlier this year. But now Marcos is yet to taste defeat and could prove to be a worthy challenge in his upcoming fight. The fighter from Houston welcomes the pressure that comes with fighting an undefeated starlet. He believes that would help push himself even further and remains confident in his experience within the company.
In an exclusive interaction with News18 Sports, Adrian Yanez talks about his upcoming bout in the UFC and how putting pressure on himself drives be to push forward even more, making him a better fighter.
Excerpts from the interview
You mentioned in May that your previous flight was a do-or-die situation. With that having a successful outcome, does it take the pressure of going into this fight?
I don’t take the pressure off myself just because of the fact that he is undefeated and no one’s job is ever secure in the UFC, even though I am coming off of a win, a spectacular win, a spectacular knockout. But I just know I can’t put myself back at a comfortable place because once I get put in a comfortable place, stuff like my year like in 2023 where I had back-to-back losses happens. So, I can’t let my let myself get comfortable. I am staying in that state of being uncomfortable and keeping the pressure on myself.
You mentioned your opponent is undefeated. However, his tenure in the UFC is markedly shorter than yours. Does his record give you pressure or does your experience give you more confidence?
I believe my experience gives me more confidence. His undefeated record, it’s nice, it’s cool and all, but he hasn’t faced anybody like me. So that’s what I am looking forward to the most, to expose. He is he is a solid fighter. He saw it everywhere. But I see things that an undefeated fighter has. Whenever I see him fight, he has this mentality of how dare you hit me. So, he tries to come back a little bit harder. So I think I’m gonna look to expose that. So whenever he makes a mistake, I’m gonna capitalize.
What are some of the big learnings from your recent wins and losses that you would be using to make an improved performance against Marco?
The improvements that I have been making, I have been working on a lot. I have been working on everything, anything and everything. And then when this matchup got made, I hone down to specifically work on some striking and clinch details. And like I can’t wait to show it off. Like I really think I can get to him pretty quick.
So you had 4 performance of the night bonuses and one fight of the night. How do you see this fight going? Another exciting performance coming up and how will you get your hand raised?
Oh, yeah, it’s going to be another exciting performance. You need two to tango and he’s the perfect guy for me to get a performance bonus. So it’s going to be fun. I think I will get him out in the second round by knockout.
Like most fighters, the title is something you are all working towards now. How do you feel you stack up against the top 15 guys right now?
I believe I can be competing in the top 15. I feel like I can get myself closer to the top 5, especially whenever I am in the right mental headspace and whenever I am firing off on all cylinders. I feel like I am a top 5 guy all day, but I have to go out there and prove it every single time. So you know, a lot of people might not think so, but I believe it in my heart. The people around me believe it in their hearts. So whenever I go in there, I gotta go there and prove it.
Since 2024 with the first-round knockout of Salvador, how important is it for you to close it off strong, and what are your plans for 2025?
So yeah, I, have to close it out with a knockout, you know, I am not going to be searching for it, but I feel like it is going to present itself. And whenever I knock him out, I am just going to go out there, have fun afterwards, go have a you know, go eat some food with my family and all that stuff. And then 2025 man is just going to be a lot more to come. Gonna go out there, keep trying and keep busting my a** in the gym and then hopefully I can get a top 5 opponent. But right now I have Daniel Marcos and that’s all I’m looking forward to at the moment.
And do you have any message for your fans in India?
Thank you all so much for the support and I believe man it’s just it’s just so crazy. You know, like the support, like, I don’t know if there’s a difference. You know, American fans can be very fickle. But like you get fans from everywhere else and they and their diehards, they ride or die. And I love it so much, man. Like I got fans from all over the world. This is it’s absolutely crazy. Thank you,
Watch UFC Fight Night – Muchado vs. Buckley on 15th December 2024, 8:30 AM IST onwards LIVE on Live on Sony Sports Ten 1 SD & HD, Sony Sports Ten 3 SD & HD (Hindi), Sony Sports Ten 4 SD & HD (Tamil & Telugu)
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