One of the most exciting, hardest hitting and relatable bantamweights on the roster returns at UFC 287. Adrian Yanez will take on the biggest test in his young career when he takes on Rob Font on the main card of the stacked PPV. Yanez, who is ranked #12 will clash with #6 Font in a fight involving two men who are at different places in their careers.
Fighting on the card with a lot of people I've looked up to.. fucking wild. https://t.co/N6fjbbrIWS
— Adrian Yañez (@yanezmma) February 23, 2023
Yanez is certainly on the rise. He’s enjoying a five-fight promotional winning run, notching an impressive four finishes. Not only this, but Yanez has recorded five post-fight bonuses on his run. He’s quickly become a fan favourite for this reason. Font, on the other hand, is suffering through the toughest spot in his career. Font went on a good run of four unbeaten fights including wins over Cody Garbrandt and Marlon Moraes. In recent times, however, Font has had a slight dip in form. He lost to Jose Aldo, which of course there’s no shame in and then he was dominated by Marlon Vera. With that being said, Font is still massively dangerous, has the experience advantage over Yanez and is still hungry to make it to the top.
Bantamweight Picture
There’s no doubt that a win over Rob Font would be the biggest in the career of Adrian Yanez. Despite being 5-0 in the UFC, not including a win on the contender series, he’s never quite faced that ‘name’. The biggest name on his resume is arguably Davey Grant, whom he defeated via split decision. Last time out he defeated Tony Kelley, who is best known for his comments whilst cornering Andrea Lee against Viviane Araujo. Kelley berated Lee stating, “That’s what they’re gonna do. They’re dirty f******* Brazilians. They’re going to f****** cheat like that” when talking about Araujo. Yanez needs that recognisable name on his record, and Font could provide just that. A win over Font could propel Yanez into the title picture, against names such as Merab Dvalishvili or Sean O’Malley in the future.
Talking to MMANews, Yanez stated that he knows that him and O’Malley will eventually meet in the octagon. Speaking on a potential match-up, he said, “On my end, it’s just the timing issue on that. But yeah, that fight is definitely going to happen, it’s a matter of when”. With that being said, he must first get through Rob Font, which won’t be an easy task.
For Font, he needs to re-find that Cody Garbrandt form in order to not slip to 0-3 in his most recent fights and remain as one of the contenders at bantamweight.
This fight encapsulates just how strong the bantamweight division is and we’re all excited for it!
