UFC: ‘Young Jorge Masvidal’ Adrian Yanez convinces Dana White with 39-second TKO on Contender Series
- Emotional Yanez earns a UFC contract and says he will take it to his father’s grave – ‘I felt he was here with me’
- The 26-year-old Texan will ‘take the comparison’ of looking and boxing like ‘Gamebred’ Masvidal
Bantamweight prospect Adrian Yanez punched his ticket to the UFC with a highlight-reel TKO of Brady Huang in just 39 seconds on Dana White’s Contender Series.
The 26-year-old Texan, who has already proved himself against top opposition in Legacy Fighting Alliance, scored the fifth-fastest knockout in Contender Series history.
He dropped his compatriot with a left hook on the jaw, then again with a right hand over the top. Jason Herzog didn’t like the way Huang sat down the second time and stepped in to stop further punishment as the 27-year-old “Kung Fu Warrior” out of San Francisco stumbled backwards into the fence.
It was an emotional night for Yanez. Four years ago he buried his father, who died from stomach cancer, and it was his dream to take a UFC contract to the grave.
“It would be an honour to say, ‘Look, I accomplished what I set out to do’. I just really hope he’s proud of me,” Yanez said as he broke down in tears in his immediate post-fight interview, before awaiting the final decision from White.
He needn’t have worried. “I didn’t get to see much, but what I did see was clean, accurate,” White said at the end of the show. “This dude’s a sniper and I look forward to seeing more in the UFC.”
