BRASILIA, Brazil -- Unbeaten as a bantamweight in the UFC, Rani Yahya enters the Octagon on Saturday night coming off an exciting win over Matthew Lopez in July, but winning his third straight at 135 pounds, wasn’t enough for him to get a ranked opponent.
"I was open to fighting anyone, ranked or not," Yahya told MMA Fighting. "Fighters in the top 15 usually don’t want to fight someone who’s outside the rankings, especially in Brazil. The UFC told me it would be Michinori Tanaka, and I’m happy because he’s a grappler, his style is similar to mine’s.