Adrian Yanez plans to prove he still “belongs with the top guys” with win over Jonathan Martinez at UFC Vegas 81

Adrian Yanez knows he’s still a top-15 bantamweight despite losing to Rob Font back in April.

Yanez suffered a first-round knockout loss and after the defeat, he knew what went wrong. The plan was to stay patient with Font, but after he rocked him, Yanez said he got too reckless, which was a good learning lesson.

“There were a lot of things I was able to get away with fighting guys who just weren’t at that level,” Yanez said on Just Scrap Radio on BJPENN.com. “I was able to get away with a lot of things. I would get careless a lot of times and it kind of backfired against me, I messed up, and I deviated away from the game plan because I had him hurt.”

Once Adrian Yanez got cleared to fight, he wasn’t sure who would be next but thought it would be someone unranked. Yet, Yanez got the call to face Jonathan Martinez at UFC Vegas 81.

Martinez is ranked ahead of Yanez, but what makes this fight difficult is the two became friends after hanging out with one another at International Fight Week.

“It was weird because we hung out with each other on International Fight Week. I really liked this guy, he was a cool guy and he had the same opinion about me,” Yanez said. “We are both managed by the same manager. Jason called me and was like ‘hey what about Jonathan Martinez?’ If that’s the name, it is what it is. I really like the guy, and he said he said the same about you. It’s the business. I actually think I have it on one of my YouTube videos of us eating brownies together.”

Although the two are friendly, Adrian Yanez says when they step into the Octagon at UFC Vegas 81 that all changes.

Yanez also knows this fight won’t be easy. But, he’s confident he has all the tools to get the win, and possibly even KO Jonathan Martinez.

“Every single time I fight, the finish comes. If I fight the way I fight, the finish will appear. It’s just making sure to stick to my game plan and not turn into a meathead and force things,” Martinez said. “I just gotta make sure that I stay on my game plan. I gotta make sure I do what I need to do to win. If I get a finish that will be phenomenal. If I shut his lights off, perfect, but all I want is the win.”

Should Adrian Yanez get the win at UFC Vegas 81, he believes it will prove to everyone he belongs in the top 10.

“I get to redeem myself. That is the way I’m looking at it, I get to redeem my loss. I still belong up there and prove to myself that I belong with the top guys… A fantastic win should get me a guy in the top 10,” Yanez concluded.