LAS VEGAS – Rani Yahya beat Ray Rodriguez with a second-round submission Saturday on the preliminary card at UFC Fight Night 187 in Las Vegas.
Take a look inside the fight with Yahya, who picked up the 21st submission win of his career.
Yahya on the fight’s key moment
“That was important for me to do what I wanted to do, which was close the distance. Eventually, I found the right distance to grab him and take him down. On the floor, I was feeling that I had control. He was threatening me with some hooks from his guard, avoiding me to progress. I stayed calm. I was breathing, hitting him, breathing … I knew the opportunity was going to come eventually, and it came in the second round.”
SUBMISSION: TWENTY ONE
You cannot make mistakes vs 🇧🇷 @RaniYahyaMMA!
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— UFC (@ufc) March 13, 2021
Yahya on his longevity
“I’ve been training hard for a really long time and every day I look to learn something new. If it’s on the mat training, outside the mat … I’m looking every day to be a better person, a better fighter, and I think I’m evolving. I’ve been in this company since the WEC times, since 2007, and I observed how much this company evolved. … It’s a huge honor for me to be part of the growth of this company, since the WEC times. And now we are on ESPN, now the whole world knows us. It’s an honor for me.”
Yahya on what he wants next
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – MARCH 13: (L-R) Rani Yahya of Brazil punches Ray Rodriguez in a bantamweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event at UFC APEX on March 13, 2021 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
“I want to finish more people. I want to submit more people. Right now I want to go back home. I want to rest. I want to tell you that I want to fight next week, but I know it’s important for me to go take a shower, take a moment, take a week off. I’ve been training nonstop for the entire year, so I want to calm down the tanks and come back whenever the UFC calls me to perform at my best.”
To hear more from Yahya, check out the video of the full post-fight interview above.