UFC Vegas 43 results: Adrian Yanez outpoints Davey Grant, pays emotional tribute to former coach

Fighting for the first time since the passing of his longtime coach, Adrian Yanez outworked a game Davey Grant with his technically masterful striking.

After earning a split call via a pair of 29-28 scores, Yanez slumped to the canvas and broke down in tears as the gravity of the moment hit him.

“I thought he’d be here for me today, but the lord has other plans,” said Yanez of his coach, Saul Solis, who passed away earlier this year due to complications from COVID-19.

Yanez picked up his fourth straight UFC win and extended his current winning streak to eight bouts, though one judge dissented by a wide margin for Grant by a tally of 30-27. The hard-fought bout was also a close one as both fighters landed hard shots over 15 minutes.

Switching stances, Grant tenderized Yanez’s with kicks early on and tried to follow with hands. Yanez had better luck in the later department, finding his range with an overhand right before a one-two hook combo that hurt Grant. A follow-up flurry wasn’t enough to finish Grant, but it put the first column in Yanez’s favor.

Yanez’s began to work the calves more frequently in the second, prompting Grant to press the issue and end his combinations with big kicks and spinning backfists. An accidental eye scrape on Yanez paused the action, and Grant used the restart to shoot for the takedown. Yanez stopped that, and the two went back to the pocket with Grant swinging wide and hard against his opponent’s tight punches. A flying knee and big right connected for Grant, but Yanez hung tough.

Grant continued to swing wide in the third and connected on several hard shots. The counters kept coming and turned his nose into a faucet as Yanez stayed tight and returned fire. Grant chased down one final firefight in the last seconds of the bout, and Yanez sunk to the mat after the final bell, emotional at the end of the action.