Rising bantamweight contender Adrian Yanez will be back in action this Saturday. UFC Fight Night: Calvin Kattar vs Josh Emmett is set to take place in Austin and the preliminary card of the event will feature Yanez and Tony Kelley in the main event.
Adrian Yanez knocked out Brady Huang in Dana White’s Contender Series in August of 2020. He was signed on by the company after such an impressive victory and Yanez has been on a killer run ever since.
Fighting out of Huston Texas, Adrian Yanez announced his arrival with a bang as he knocked Victor Rodriguez out with a head kick. He also stopped Gustavo Lopez and Randy Costa with strikes as well. But Andrian had a tough time against Davey Grant in his last fight, whom he defeated via split decision.
Things got intense between Adrian Yanez and Tony Kelley. 😳 #UFCAustin pic.twitter.com/GwHOEj9c8f
— MMA Junkie (@MMAJunkie) June 17, 2022
In the other half of the fight, Tony Kelley will have his first bout in 7 months as he prepares to go to war with Yanez on June 18th. Kelley stumbled right off the blocks as he lost to Kai Kamaka on his debut in August of 2020. But Tony made a quick turnaround and took on Ali AlQaisi to earn his very first UFC win. He then took off an entire year before fighting Randy Costa at UFC 269.
UFC Fight Night Prelims, Adrian Yanez vs Tony Kelley: Stats
Stats | Adrian Yanez | Tony Kelley |
---|---|---|
Wins | 15 | 8 |
Losses | 3 | 2 |
Height | 1.7 m | 1.75 m |
Division | Bantamweight | Bantamweight |
Reach | 177.8 cm | 177.8 cm |
Age | 28 | 35 |
Can Adrian Yanez continue his winning streak against Tony Kelley?
Adrian Yanez is an all-action fighter with an average of 6.35 strikes per minute. But he has only 39% accuracy, which proves how many shots he throws at once. It is an indication of his volume striking which puts his opponents under a lot of pressure. Yanez also averages 1 knockdown per fight. Even more impressively, he has a takedown defence of 100%.
Tony Kelley is not a fighter who goes for a takedown himself. He is even yet to attempt a single takedown in his UFC career. Hence this fight on Saturday is going to take place on the feet. So the result depends on the striking skills of both fighters. Although Kelley is not as active of a striker as Yanez, he still lands 5.58 strikes per minute.
But he is yet to knock any of his opponents down throughout his 3 fight UFC career. Hence the power difference favours Yanez in this contest. However, Kelley is much better with his striking defence. But it may not matter in the end as Adrian is much younger and more agile in the cage.
The 28-year-old’s chaotic fighting style may take Tony out of his comfort zone and force him into having a brawl with Yanez. In that case, Adrian is the clear favourite to win.