Rani Yahya was alleged to face Cody Garbrandt in 2022, however a lingering neck harm pressured him out of the match.
Now set to face Victor Henry on Saturday at UFC Vegas 91, Yahya desires to revisit the matchup.
“That battle was in my thoughts for a very long time, as a result of it was going to be the largest battle of my life,” Yahya advised MMA Preventing. “He’s a former champion, a giant identify, and it was going to be a co-main occasion on the time. Sure, [re-booking it] positively is one thing I want to do. My focus is on Victor Henry and that’s all I’m considering proper now, the identical outdated cliche, however I admit that I do take into consideration combating Cody Garbrandt.”
Garbrandt was victorious in opposition to Trevin Jones and Brian Kelleher after the Yahya match fell by means of, however misplaced his most up-to-date outing in opposition to Deiveson Figueiredo at UFC 300.
Yahya, 39, additionally appears to be like to return to the win column after struggling a TKO by the hands of Montel Jackson in April 2023. The Brazilian bantamweight was pressured to cancel a deliberate battle with Alatengheili this previous October on account of accidents, however is lastly 100% once more.
“The medical doctors mentioned I used to be cleared to battle [Alateng] however I nonetheless had some points to repair,” Yahya mentioned, “so I wished to heal every little thing and solely be again after I was able to placed on the most effective efficiency I might. I made a decision to take a while off. I had no rush to come back again to combating, I wished to take time to get well and actually be properly once more. I’ve been on this sport for 22 years and have plenty of mileage, greater than 40 fights, and half of these are within the UFC, so I need to placed on the most effective efficiency I can. I really feel good now, and I need to use that have in my favor.”
Yahya has gained 13 of his 20 octagon appearances, a run that additionally features a draw and one no-contest. He used his jiu-jitsu abilities to submit seven of these opponents.
Henry holds two victories underneath the UFC banner, a pair of choices over Tony Gravely and Raoni Barcelos. His final match, versus Javid Basharat in October, resulted in a no-contest on account of an unintended groin strike.
“He’s an MMA fighter that prefers to face and throws kicks,” Yahya mentioned of Henry. “He strikes properly and has good quantity, however I don’t suppose he has heavy fingers, a deadly knockout artist. He provides up too many openings on the toes too, however has proven good conditioning. Nothing too unbelievable technique-wise, each on the toes and on the bottom. I feel there are means too many openings I can discover.
“Everybody I battle desires to keep away from grappling and I feel it’s going to be the identical with Henry, however he’s a man who often likes to grapple. I’ve seen some fights the place he was in a position to get again to his toes and defend properly in opposition to the fence. Nothing out of the peculiar, however he may resolve to interact on the bottom and take the chance. I’ve seen him use foot locks, catch-wrestling model, and a few those who have fought him gave me some suggestions. I’m prepared for all situations. His coaches may inform him to keep away from grappling, however generally we return to our instincts in a battle.”
