The 2021 UFC Fight Pass Invitational Had Rising Star Alexa Yanes' Ability On Full Display After A Strong Showing Over Danielle Kelly
After a strong showing over Danielle Kelly at the UFC FIGHT PASS Invitational, was a star born or has Alexa Yanes been here for years?
Yanes may have turned the FIGHT PASS subscribers’ heads after her decision victory over flyweight no-gi queen Danielle Kelly at FPI 1, but the 27-year-old black belt explains that winning high-level grappling matches is nothing new to her. Doing it on UFC FIGHT PASS is.
“I just got my black belt in July, but in brown belt, right before black belt, I got second place at the Pan American championships; it’s called IBJJF,” Yanes explained. “I’m also a world purple belt champion in no-gi. I also compete in Abu Dhabi; I’ve gotten second place at multiple world pros.”
𝗨𝗙𝗖 𝗙𝗜𝗚𝗛𝗧 𝗣𝗔𝗦𝗦 𝗜𝗻𝘃𝗶𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹: 𝘽𝙊𝙉𝙐𝙎 𝘽𝙊𝙐𝙏𝙎
▪️ Danielle Kelly vs Alexa Yanes ▪️ Ben Saunders vs Benson Henderson ▪️ Bobby Green vs Shane Shapiro ▪️ Gabriel Checco vs Brendan Allen
Yanes took home the victory over Kelly but was unable to secure a finish. The victory may have caused a bit of a stir among fans, but she noticed that while people may not have liked the decision, she still noticed plenty of intrigue around her performance amongst the new crowd.
“I think what was interesting for people was that I gave her a hard time,” Yanes said. “I think a lot of people went in thinking, ‘Who’s this girl?’ and everybody knows Danielle Kelly, especially the UFC FIGHT PASS fans because she does a lot of those events. The fact that I went in there and I gave her a hard time, I think that’s what kind of made people interested.”
Not one to turn her tail and run, Yanes makes it clear to her fans, old and new, that she may have been unsure of the idea at first, but it was an experience that exceeded hype, landed her on the “2022 UFC FIGHT PASS Fighters To Watch” list and exposed her to a whole new fanbase. She’s definitely not done grappling on UFC FIGHT PASS.
For fight fans out there wondering how Yanes feels about an MMA run in the future, don’t hold your breath. As an all or nothing type of athlete, Yanes doesn’t see much of a future in MMA.
“As of now, I’d have to say I’m strictly Jiu jitsu,” Yanes said. “I try to get excited about MMA and I like the idea of it, but I have to force myself to do MMA. To be champion at MMA is a whole other thing. I know I could do good in MMA, have a fight or two and win, no problem, but to be champion in the long run, that’s something I can’t see.”
Yanes predicts three or four FIGHT PASS appearances in 2022, and although none of them will be in a cage, it will be interesting for fight fans to watch the gi medalist make even more of a name for herself on UFC FIGHT PASS. Might a rematch be in order?
Sign up TODAY for UFC FIGHT PASS to relive Alexa Yanes’ coming out party, and don’t miss a second of the greatest combat sports under the sun, ONLY on UFC FIGHT PASS!
