Preview: UFC on ESPN 27 Prelims

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Bantamweights

NR | Adrian Yanez (13-3, 2-0 UFC) vs. NR | Randy Costa (6-1, 2-1 UFC)

ODDS: Yanez (-225), Costa (+185)

This bout has gotten some hype as the most exciting fight on the card, and it is hard to argue against it. It is basically a guaranteed banger between two fighters with a lot of potential. Texas’ Yanez was one of the standouts of last year’s season of Dana White’s Contender Series, scoring a 39-second knockout of Brady Huang and did little to dull his hype with a beautiful head kick knockout of Victor Rodriguez in his proper UFC debut. Yanez is a powerful boxer with some slickness to his game, though there was some question as to how he would fare in deeper waters. On the regional scene, things got much closer when Yanez was pitted against an opponent he could not immediately knock out. However, Yanez’s most recent bout against Gustavo Lopez was a promising step. Against another interesting scrapper, Yanez managed to stay patient, find winning moments and stop Lopez’s lone takedown attempts on route to a third-round knockout. He will have trouble staying patient here, however, as Costa is guaranteed to press the issue.

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Even by current standards, Costa was extremely raw when the UFC signed him in early 2019. Up to that point, Costa’s entire career consisted of four fights over seven months that lasted less than three minutes combined. That reflects Costa’s approach. He is willing to throw a ton of power and volume with unorthodox form, including a surprisingly reliance on kicks at certain points in his fights. Costa is currently riding a two-fight winning streak—both of the victories resulted in quick knockouts—but there are still plenty of questions about the next layers of his game. Costa’s lone fight to last past the first round was his UFC debut, which saw him tire and get finished by Brandon Michael Davis early in the second round. This should be a barnburner for as long as it lasts, and either man could score an early finish. Yanez has the quicker hands and better form, but Costa’s willingness to try things is exactly the type of approach that can catch opponents cold. Given that Yanez is the much more proven fighter past five minutes, it is difficult not to favor the Texan here. The pick is Yanez via second-round knockout.

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