Preview: UFC on ESPN 21 ‘Brunson vs. Holland’

Bantamweight

NR | Adrian Yanez (12-3, 1-0 UFC) vs. NR | Gustavo Lopez (12-5, 1-1 UFC)

ODDS: Yanez (-220), Lopez (+180)

Yanez was one of the standouts on the 2020 iteration of Dana White’s Contender Series. His story about fighting in the memory of his father was quite moving, as was his performance, as he absolutely starched Brady Huang in just 39 seconds. Yanez followed that up with a brutal head kick knockout of Victor Rodriguez in his proper UFC debut in October, and it will be interesting to see where he goes from here. At this point, he is still a pure knockout artist—a look at his record shows that things tend to go sideways if he cannot finish his opponent—but Yanez’s combination of swagger and durability should make him an entertaining mainstay at bantamweight if nothing else. Lopez is in a similar boat. He was essentially put in a no-win situation for his UFC debut, stepping in on extremely late notice to get outwrestled by Merab Dvalishvili for 15 minutes. However, Lopez got a much better chance to show off his wares in November and score his first UFC win, as he submitted Anthony Birchak in a shade under three minutes. This should be a war and might be the most exciting fight of this card on paper. Both of these men tend to march forward with extreme confidence and little regard for what the opponent throws back at them. Yanez seems a bit more aggressive, but Lopez has the advantage of being able to mix things up and take the fight to the ground as needed. In an otherwise even fight, that is enough to give Lopez the advantage. The pick is for Lopez to win an entertaining decision.

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