UFC fan favorite Adrian Yañez issued his first public remarks since a loss to Daniel Marcos at UFC Tampa.
Adrian Yañez’s bid to get back into the bantamweight Top 15 fell short against Daniel Marcos at UFC Tampa. After three rounds of competitive action, Yañez lost by split decision to drop his third fight over his last four appearances.
Yañez’s loss was further complicated by a nasty eye poke he suffered early on in the fight. After Marcos accidentally poked Yañez’s eye, the former Dana White’s Contender Series standout appeared to have issues with his timing on the feet, and couldn’t withstand Marcos’ barrage.
While the fight’s scoring was debatable, the damage Yañez suffered was too much to overcome late. But despite the eye poke, Yañez doesn’t blame the infraction for the defeat.
Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC
In a recent post to X, Yañez addressed the controversial loss at UFC Tampa.
“Big shoutout to everyone who supported me, trolls are gonna troll, it is what it is,” Yañez said. “The real homies stay next to me…I could blame the eye poke, vision was blurred, eye was burning, but I continued to fight, that s***’s on me…no one else to blame but me.
“Fight was close, just let it slip away, you guys. I try to put on bangers every single time, I apologize guys. But shoutout to everyone who still supports me, love you guys.”
Entering UFC Tampa, the former DWCS standout Yañez earned a first-round TKO over Vinicius Salvador in May. He overcame the first two losses of his UFC tenure, after recent defeats to Jonathan Martinez and Rob Font.
Yañez burst into the bantamweight Top 15 after wins over Tony Kelley, Davey Grant, and Randy Costa. He earned post-fight performance bonuses in each of his first five UFC victories.
The 31-year-old Yañez remains a talented bantamweight to keep an eye on entering 2025. His boxing is amongst the best in the bantamweight division and makes him a matchup nightmare for many rising 135lbers.
Before earning a contract via DWCS, Yañez made a name for himself in promotions such as LFA and Fury FC. As of this writing, he’s 17-6 in his professional career.
Yañez will look to bounce back in a big way in his next UFC appearance. In the meantime, he’ll look to heal up and look forward to another potential high-profile year in the Octagon.
