UFC bantamweight Adrian Yanez has described how he envisions a matchup with fellow up-and-coming contender Sean O’Malley would go.
At UFC Austin last month, Yanez increased his promotional record to 5-0, which helped him advance up the 135-pound ladder. He accomplished this with his fourth Octagon knockout, this one coming against Tony Kelley in front of a cheering home crowd.
Adrian Yanez-O’Malley Fight
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With the win, Yanez has clinched the #15 slot in the division and is probably going to face a rated opponent the following time.
Yanez is a rising star in one of the UFC’s most competitive divisions. Though intriguing prospects include José Aldo vs. Merab Dvalishvili, Aljamain Sterling vs. TJ Dillashaw, and Dominick Cruz vs. Marlon Vera, the fight for the unranked Yanez is the topic of the day.
Thanks in large part to Yanez’s post-fight callout, which received a favorable response from “Sugar,” discussion of a prospective collision with another intriguing 135lber O’Malley was started following the Texan’s most recent triumph.
The dynamic striker’s game was broken down by Yanez in an interview with The AllStar’s John Hyon Ko, despite the fact that it appears that a victory against Pedro Munhoz tomorrow night at UFC 276 would put the #13-ranked O’Malley out of Yanez’s reach for the time being.
It’s the feints and the range. He excels at handling both. He is able to be as creative as he is because that, in a sense, sets everything else up, according to Yanez.
He is arranging everything. Every small action serves as a setup. He doesn’t merely punch for the sake of punching. He doesn’t feint only for the sake of feinting. He wants you to consider everything.
Before that knockout (against Eddie Wineland), he did a lot of other things.
He was thinking that it was feints that caused him to think low, think high, and believe that an uppercut was coming before switching to a straight-cross. He acts in specific ways and based on specific reads in whatever he does.
Yanez foresees a tactical altercation with O’Malley
After analyzing O’Malley’s repertoire of abilities and his gifted striking, Yanez evaluated how his own style of play would contrast with that of the Montana native.
Given the parallels between his and O’Malley’s skill sets, Yanez predicted a tactical battle that could occasionally devolve into a brawl, making what seems to be an impending confrontation must-see for the fans.
“I believe I act in the same manner. I believe I provide forward pressure so I can anticipate what they will do and then counter from there. So it would be a good fight,” Yanez stated. It would be similar to a thinking man’s fight.
It would be as if we were both working on different projects at the same time… Not only would it be a thinking man’s game, but we’d also get into a fight… It would resemble tacticians pointing, pointing, and pointing before fighting.
Yanez believes he can defeat “Sugar” even though he acknowledged O’Malley’s success and is aware of his skills if and when they share the Octagon in the future.
“If I put it all together, I feel like I’ve silenced him. I feel like I stop him, especially if I’m not having a bad night and I’m at the top of my game,” said Yanez.
“However, you can’t pit yourself against Sean O’Malley at the same time. You’ll be waking up from whatever bad night you had with him.
However, I believe I could harm him. I could inflict harm on him everywhere—on his body, to his head, etc. I enjoy the battle for my own rights.
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