Adrian Yanez

Adrian Yanez looked like a star in the making the moment he stepped into the UFC. A Dana White's Contender Series graduate, he opened his run with four straight wins built on some of the cleanest boxing in the bantamweight division, banking performance bonuses and Fight of the Night honors for highlight-reel knockouts.

His style is a striking purist's delight: fast hands, sharp counters, tight combinations and real power, all delivered with the kind of aggression that makes for must-watch fights. The barnburner with Davey Grant became an instant fan favorite and cemented his reputation as one of the more exciting strikers at 135.

The step up in competition brought growing pains, as a run of close, instructive losses to ranked opponents like Rob Font and Jonathan Martinez stalled his momentum. Even so, Yanez remains a dangerous, must-watch action fighter whose hands can change any fight in an instant, and a rebound is always one clean combination away.