'You are a huge inspiration for me' - Rani Yahya revealed why he admires Daniel Cormier after UFC Vegas 21 victory
During his UFC Vegas 21 post-fight interview with UFC commentator Daniel Cormier, Rani Yahya revealed why he admires Cormier. Yahya had words of high praise for retired MMA great, Cormier, and called DC ‘a huge inspiration’ for him.
Rani Yahya entered UFC Vegas 21 (March 13th, 2021), coming off a majority draw against Enrique Barzola whom he faced in March 2020. Yahya was looking to return to his winning ways and was faced with Ray Rodriguez in a bantamweight bout at UFC Vegas 21.
Going up against Ray Rodriguez, Rani Yahya put on an amazing performance, stopping Rodriguez via an arm-triangle submission at the 3:09-minute mark of round two.
On the other hand, Daniel Cormier’s most recent fight was a unanimous decision loss against UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic in their trilogy fight at UFC 252 in August 2020. Following the trilogy matchup against Miocic, Cormier announced his retirement from the sport of MMA.
DC has been working as a UFC commentator, analyst, and on-air personality for quite long, dating back to his days as a professional MMA fighter. Cormier also happened to be working tonight’s UFC Vegas 21 event, the fight card on which Rani Yahya fought Ray Rodriguez.
Daniel Cormier interviewed Rani Yahya after his win at UFC Vegas 21, which is when Yahya expressed his admiration for Cormier. Rani Yahya stated –
“Guys like you (Daniel Cormier), now Jan Blachowicz, you know, you guys are a kind of inspiration for me – ‘cause right now, I’m 36, and you guys, you know, became a champion in a higher age. So, I wanna say that you are a huge inspiration for me.” (*H/T Sportskeeda for the transcription)
Daniel Cormier thanked Rani Yahya for the kind words, and Yahya thanked him in return. Rani Yahya cited the example of Daniel Cormier and Jan Blachowicz, both of whom won UFC world titles in their mid-to-late thirties.
Cormier won the UFC light heavyweight title in 2015 and the UFC heavyweight title in 2018, whereas Blachowicz won the UFC light heavyweight title in 2020.
Veteran MMA fighter Rani Yahya aims to win the UFC bantamweight title
Daniel Cormier is currently 41, Jan Blachowicz is 38, and Rani Yahya is 36 years of age. As noted, veteran MMA competitor Yahya has insinuated that his aim is to win a UFC world title.
Presently, Rani Yahya competes in the UFC bantamweight division. The UFC bantamweight title is held by Aljamain Sterling, who defeated Petr Yan via DQ (disqualification) at UFC 259 (March 6th, 2021).
Sterling is purportedly defending his title in a rematch against Yan next, whereas Rani Yahya is likely to continue his quest to keep working towards a shot at the title.