Two powerful bantamweight strikers are set to clash at UFC Vegas 43 on Saturday, Nov. 20, when Adrian Yanez (14-3 MMA, 3-0 UFC) meets Davey Grant (11-5 MMA, 4-4 UFC).
Yanez will look to pick up his fourth consecutive UFC knockout in as many tries when he steps into the Octagon against Grant. Yanez said Grant is an “excellent” fighter who is tough and durable.
“He’s one of those guys who’s going to come forward and try to stay in your face the whole entire time,” Yanez told MMASucka. “I feel the match-up is a really great one for me, because he’s going to help me set up a knockout. He’s going to give me the knockout, pretty much.”
Yanez said he likes to be strategic with his striking, pushing a clean and technical pace. Yanez believes his technical boxing will be too much for Grant.
“Whenever I’m in there, and whenever he’s going against someone who’s a little bit more of a technical fighter, I think he’ll have trouble,” Yanez said. “That’s exactly what I am. It’s going to be a fun night for me.”
Yanez said his bout with Grant could be a Fight of the Night as long as Grant is able to take his shots.
“The Fight of the Night is going to be solely because of me, because he’s the guy who’s going to come forward,” Yanez said. “He’s going to be swinging wild. That’s where I’ll be technical and where I’ll hit him with more shots. I’m trying to put up Max Holloway numbers if he’s able to take the shots.”
Yanez predicted a knockout in either the second round or early third.
“I really do think I’m going to stop him.”
Yanez in March told MMASucka he was aiming to go 4-0 or 5-0 in the UFC in 2021. A win over Grant would put Yanez at 3-0 on the year. Yanez is still happy with the year he’s had to date and is already excited about 2022.
“Honestly, it’s been great,” he said. “The exposure, the amount of fights I got. I was able to get on the main card when I fought Gustavo [Lopez] and Randy [Costa] has been a blessing, man. The way I’ve been able to put them away has only made it greater. If I go out there and put out Davey Grant convincingly, then that sets me up for really great things in the future. I look at all those fights as investments. Those fights are really putting stuff in the bank for me. I’m really super excited to see how this next year is going to be.”
Yanez’s bout with Grant will likely be the last the fans see of him in 2021 as the holiday season approaches. Money talks, however.
“Unless they break the bank [I’m done for 2021],” Yanez said. “Let’s say I knock Davey out, and they say, ‘We want to give you $500,000 to fight this guy.’ Then yeah, for sure, I’m 100 percent for sure going to go out and fight that guy … More than likely, I’m going to take the time off for a little bit. I need to handle some things and make sure my family is good before I start thinking about getting into another fight.”
Yanez believes a win over Grant will either put a number next to his name or at least earn him a date with a top-15 bantamweight.
“A win over Davey Grant should put me in the top-15, especially if I do it convincingly. I do see myself being in the top-15 in 2022. I’m going to go ahead and make that happen, especially if I go out there and stop Davey Grant in the first round. If I get a first-round stoppage, that for sure should put me in the top-15.”
Yanez said the more he wins, the more alluring it may be for guys in the top-15 to want to fight him.
“If I go 4-0 in the UFC with all four knockouts, then there is going to be somebody who the UFC is going to want to push up, and that’s going to be me, because I’m coming out and fighting every single time, producing knockouts,” Yanez said. “[Potential opponents] are all going to want to stop my hype, stop my train, so of course, they are going to want to fight me. I am 100 percent ready for those challenges, too. If they want to stop the hype and stop wherever I’m going, they’re more than welcome to sign the contract against me and try to stop it. They’ll become part of my knockout streak.”
UFC Vegas 43 is set to go down from the UFC APEX in Las Vegas. The card is set to air live on ESPN+, with the prelims starting at 3 p.m. and the main card at 6 p.m. EST. Adrian Yanez vs. Davey Grant is set to open the main card, according to the UFC website.
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