LINCOLN, NE - AUGUST 25: Rani Yahya of Brazil celebrates after his submission victory over Luke Sanders in their bantamweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event at Pinnacle Bank Arena on August 25, 2018 in Lincoln, Nebraska. (Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
Rani Yahya interested in fighting Sean O’Malley or Marlon Vera next
Veteran UFC bantamweight contender Rani Yahya says that he is interested in fighting Sean O’Malley or Marlon Vera his next time out.
Yahya defeated Kyung Ho Kang via unanimous decision this past Saturday at UFC Vegas 43. It was another solid win for the Brazilian, who improved to 13-4-1, 1 NC overall inside the UFC Octagon. For years, Yahya has been one of the most underrated fighters at 135lbs on the UFC roster. But after beating Kang for his second straight win in 2022, Yahya is hoping that he gets a well-deserved step up in competition next.
Speaking to the media following UFC Vegas 43, Yahya was asked who he wants to fight next and he had two names on his list. The first would be Vera, who is coming off of a knockout win over Frankie Edgar at UFC 268. Yahya is hoping that Vera would fight him, but if not, he would be happy to fight O’Malley instead.
“I see Marlon Vera is a good name – we were supposed to fight once but I was having some personal things that I couldn’t take the fight at the time. I see that there’s a lot of hype on him. I would love to fight him. Then of course, O’Malley. Everybody wants to fight (him), but I think that would be a very good fight. Interesting for the UFC, too, because I see that UFC make him fight with some people that they believe he’s going to beat,” Vera said (via MMAjunkie.com). “At this point, I’m 37, I’m a veteran, maybe they would believe that he would beat me. So I think it’s a reasonable fight. I think me and O’Malley, it’s someone I would love to test myself against him.”
Do you want to see Rani Yahya fight Sean O’Malley or Marlon Vera next, or someone else instead?
