An exciting bantamweight bout on paper saw Adrian Yanez and Gustavo Lopez paired up at UFC Vegas 22. A fight that produced a very exciting finish.
The fun bit of matchmaking saw Yanez, a Contender Series veteran who won his UFC debut last year in thunderous fashion care of a head kick, paired up against Lopez — a former Combate Americas champ known for exciting fights of his own.
When two Mexican (or Mexican-American) fighters face off in the UFC, you know it is going to be a fun fight. That was the case Saturday in Yanez vs. Lopez.
Both fighters met in the middle of the octagon but felt each other out for a minute. Yanez landed a calf kick and a nice 1-2 combo. Yanez then cracked Lopez with a right hand, but Lopez ate it. With two minutes left, both men landed punches. Lopez landed a right hook that stung Yanez and Yanez landed a follow-up punch of his own. Lopez landed a left hand, and Yanez landed a nasty combo that rocked Lopez. A great start to the fight.
Yanez landed a right hand to start round two. He thought about going for a flying knee but just jumped straight up. Yanez landed a beautiful counter 1-2 combo, followed by a right hand that dropped Lopez! Yanez went for the kill, but Lopez shot for a takedown. Yanez was looking very, very crisp. With 90 seconds left, Lopez landed a calf kick. Yanez caught Lopez’s kick and fired off a punch. Yanez threw a high kick with 30 seconds left. He faked a spinning kick to end round two. Another fantastic round, with Adrian Yanez really turning up the heat.
With Lopez needing a finish, he opened up round three with a jab. Yanez landed a right hand counter in turn that put Lopez down! That was all she wrote, as the referee stepped in to save him.
THIS KID!
Put @YanezMMA on the top of your prospect lists 🤯
[ #UFCVegas22 on @ESPN & #ESPNPlus ] pic.twitter.com/6MkpRaAWmA
— UFC (@ufc) March 21, 2021
Two UFC fights, two knockouts. Impressive stuff for Yanez, especially when you add on his Contender Series showing.
Official Result: Adrian Yanez def. Gustavo Lopez by knockout, Round 3, 0:39
