Rani Yahya is Happy to Be Fighting in His Home City

Rani Yahya spoke with MMAjunkie about his fight with Michinori Tanaka at UFC Fight Night 95. The highlights are below:

On fighting in his birth city: “To fight at home is a great, due to several factors. I can sleep in my own bed and don’t have to adapt to a new time zone. I don’t have to fly. The fans will be on my side, which counts for a lot.”

On Tanaka’s striking: “His striking base, the way he moves, comes from karate. So I’ve been training karate too. I’m very ready for anything he’d like to try.”

On Tanaka taking fights to the ground: “I saw that in every fight of his I watched. He’s a fighter who likes to take the fight to the ground. But his ground game has a lot of gaps. He gives up his back. He has a position where he gives up his back and then quickly turns into his opponent’s guard. It’s a specialty of his…On the feet, he starts out strong, throwing powerful strikes, but then he fades. He moves around a lot. He’s a good fighter, with only one defeat, a split decision. Ultimately, I don’t think he’s that impressive. Just the opposite. There are many holes in his game.”

On his mindset: “Without a doubt, I’m highly focused on this fight. This fight is what’s most important to me at the moment. So I haven’t put much thought about what’s next. My last opponents were ranked below me. So, I’d like to face someone ranked above me next.”