Adrian Yanez was genuinely worried about Vinicius Salvador after his technical knockout victory over the Brazilian at UFC Fight Night 241.
Yanez pinned Salvador down with a huge right hand midway through the opening round and followed up with brutal ground and pound to secure the finish. After the game, the amount of attack that referee Chris Tognoni allowed Salvador to absorb before stepping in was a topic of discussion among spectators.
While some praised coach Tognoni for giving the ‘Fenomeno’ a chance to recover, others believed that some of Yanez’s devastating shots could have been stopped if the referee had intervened sooner. . Yanez also acknowledged that Salvador initially created enough defensive moments for Tognoni to keep the match going.
“Honestly, I don’t know. He was moving, he was doing everything right,” Yanez said in the post-game press conference. “I think when he pulled my base down from my waist, he created a mess in my punching. But I was making solid shots, and listening to Chris Tognoni’s voice, he said, ‘ I was waiting for him to say, “Fight back.” And after five seconds, every time he yells, “Fight back!” I was like, “Okay, cool, I just have to keep punching.” ”
The brutal ground and pound left Salvador on the canvas for several minutes even after the fight was stopped. Yanez revealed that he was initially concerned about his opponent’s health. However, the 30-year-old has since faced Salvador and his opponent seemed to be doing well.
“And I thought, ‘Oh yeah!’ When the fight stopped, he was still moving so it was okay, but every time I walked away I could see him still on the ground,” Yanez said. said. “I was like, ‘Oh, Saint.'” Somehow I calmed down, and as I watched, I thought, “Oh, that’s it.” He was still depressed and to be honest all the thoughts in my head were like, “Oh my god, I thought I killed someone.” And then I started feeling really sick and I had to sit down and make sure he was okay. But yeah, thankfully I got to see him, he’s fine, he’s okay. However, I feel like it could have been stopped a little earlier. ”
