AUSTIN, Texas – Adrian Yanez plans to take out Tony Kelley, regardless of his past comments.
Kelley (8-2 MMA, 2-1 UFC) was publicly scrutinized after a hot mic incident while he gave advice to his girlfriend Andrea Lee in her fight against Viviane Araujo, a Brazilian fighter, at UFC on ESPN 36.
Kelley’s “dirty f*cking Brazilians” comment received plenty of heat. He later claimed his language was not racist and pointed to cancel culture for the uproar. Now, Brazilian fans online seem to hope Yanez (15-3 MMA, 4-0 UFC) takes out Kelley out on Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 37 prelims.
“I know that the guy that’s in front of me is a really tough fighter, gritty fighter, really technical, so I don’t want to put any extra stress or pressure on myself,” Yanez said Wednesday at a pre-fight news conference. “Whatever is said was said, but at the same time for me I’m like, he’s still the main thing. As bad as it sounds, anything else around it to me is gone.
“It’s just him because I know if I go out there and I’m like, ‘Oh he said this’ and I get out of my emotional state, I go out there and charge at him and get knocked out. I don’t want that. Then all of a sudden you got a whole bunch of Brazilian people like, ‘Oh, you suck.’ I still have the same motivation whenever I started, I still have the same motivation now to knock him out and finish him and get a decisive win.”
Don’t get Yanez wrong. If he can get Brazilian fans on his side with a finish, he’s more than happy to oblige.
“The way I fight and the way I want to get it done is knocking him out and if that brings more fans from Brazil wanting to see me do that, then fine,” Yanez said. “I’m all for it because they’re gonna love me when I knock him out.”
UFC on ESPN 37 takes place Saturday at Moody Center in Austin, Texas. The card airs on ESPN and streams on ESPN+. Check out Yanez’s full interview in the video above.