Breakout UFC Star Reveals Octagon Trash Talk: ‘Wish Version of Masvidal’

Carmen Mandato/Getty Adrian Yanez celebrates defeating Tony Kelley in their bantamweight fight at the UFC Fight Night event at Moody Center on June 18, 2022 in Austin, Texas.

Breakout UFC star Adrian Yanez revealed what his controversial opponent, Tony Kelley, said to him in the Octagon during their heated fight in his home state of Texas on June 18. A fired-up Yanez gave Kelley a double middle finger, a flashback to Kelley flipping off the fans prior to the fight, after knocking out the Louisiana bantamweight at the UFC Fight Night Austin event on Saturday.

Yanez said during his post-fight press conference, “In the middle when he started talking more s*** I was like, ‘Oh now I really don’t like you. … He started calling me a ‘Wish version of Masvidal’ and now he kind of wishes he didn’t say that, you know?”

Kelley was facing an uphill battle against the hometown hero Yanez and had drawn the ire of some UFC fans with his comments while cornering his fellow UFC fighter girlfriend, Andrea Lee, in May during her loss against Brazil’s Viviane Araujo. Kelley was caught saying to Lee in between rounds, “That’s what they’re going to do, they’re dirty f***** Brazilians. They’re going to f***** cheat like that.”

Kelley responded to the backlash on Twitter in May, writing, “Cancel Culture is real. What I said was real and in the heat of battle, and in no way had any type of racist connotations meant…but if that’s the way you take it, idgaf. So many people quick to say racist..that s**** getting so old. My reference was to a dirty eye poke.”

Kelley, who also missed weight heading into the fight, fell to 8-3 with his loss to Yanez, who is now 15-3 overall. The 29-year-old Texan is 5-0 since joining the UFC and also has a win on Dana White’s Contender Series. Yanez is on a nine-fight win streak and called out fellow bantamweight prospect Sean O’Malley, trying to set up a possible clash if O’Malley can get past Pedro Munhoz at UFC 276 on July 2.

Kelley Responded on Instagram Writing, ‘At the End of the Day, It’s Still F*** Youuuu Haterrsss … Who’s Next?!’

About Kelley’s weight miss, Yanez told reporters, “I was pretty annoyed, because he was trying to justify it saying he could have cut more but the doctor told him to stop. … We got told two hours or three hours before weighins that he was going to be too over. It is what it is, I had to keep my composure.” Yanez said Kelley’s actions at the ceremonial weighins were what “really rubbed me wrong.”

He added, “I was sitting there, I was like looking at my family, I spotted my family in the crowd, saw my baby and everything and then all of a sudden out of the back of my head all I hear is, ‘Get your a** down here boy.’ That’s what literally irritated me.” Yanez then walked toward Kelley and the two had to be separated by UFC CEO Dana White. “That’s the reason why I got heated and then he started talking and he got me even more riled up,” Yanez said.

Yanez said Kelley was talking to him in the cage during their fight and accusing him of bringing up his comments about Brazilian fighters. Yanez said he only talked about it because the media was asking him questions about it leading up to the fight. “It’s not me putting up the headlines,” Yanez said.

Kelley hasn’t spoken extensively since his brutal knockout loss, but did take to Instagram on Sunday to tease his response. Kelley wrote, “At the end of the day….it’s still 🖕🏼 F*** youuuu 🖕🏼 haterrsss Who’s next ?!” His comments were in the caption of a photo of him sticking up his middle fingers during weighins.

Kelley added, “Lot of context for what happened last night.. but shit it is what it is, you simple mfers couldn’t begin to understand…. 💯 Check my upcoming interview to get the full scoop.” Yanez said during his press conference, “There’s still some animosity. I don’t like that guy.”

Brazilian UFC Star Gilbert Burns Gave Yanez a ‘Bounty’ for Beating Kelley

Carmen Mandato/GettyAdrian Yanez celebrates defeating Tony Kelley in their bantamweight fight at the UFC Fight Night event at Moody Center on June 18, 2022 in Austin, Texas.

Yanez said he knew a lot of Brazilians wanted him to knockout Kelley because of what he said and the controversy around him. One of those rooting for him was UFC welterweight star Gilbert “Durinho” Burns, who offered a “bounty” for knocking out Kelley.

The Brazilian Burns wrote on Twitter after Yanez’s win, “My guy @yanezmma representing 🇧🇷 DM me your Zelle or cash app! CONGRATS!! #UFCAustin.” He then tweeted, “Come on my guys! Make sure you push @yanezmma to accept the money he don’t want it! It’s been a fight #UFCAustin 🤑🤑.”

Yanez eventually accepted the cash, tweeting, “Big thank you to @GilbertDurinho 🙏🙏 definitely spending that on my son!! I greatly appreciate it 🙏.” Yanez called the win the “most satisfying” of his career, saying, “There was just an extra added thing to it.”

Yanez said he can see a fight with O’Malley happening by the end of the year. He told reporters, “If he gets Pedro Munhoz, I just knocked out Tony Kelley, I’ve got another spectacular win and let’s just say he sits for a second, weighs out his options, I’ll be there. I don’t mind fighting him at all. Because I just know me knocking out ‘Suga Sean’ is just going to bump me way up high. I’m 100% down for that fight. I feel like we both need to get paid for that. … It’s going to be a really fun fight for me. Especially when I get to knock him out.”