“After that fight, I felt that I was against a wall,” said Yahya of the March 2017 meeting with Soto that prompted him to make serious changes in his professional career. “That fight made me realize that I had to fully dedicate myself and change many things that I was doing.
“The main thing is that I changed the whole way I trained and changed my camp. I used to be my own head coach, so I used to put myself in the worst position and push myself way too hard.
“I switched my camp, that was the first thing,” continued Yahya, who now trains at American Top Team in South Florida. “I also changed my mentality because when I decided to make that move, I was 33 years old and I had to fully dedicate myself to doing this. I would be in shape all the time, not only when I have a fight camp.”
The results have been immediate and impressive.
In the three fights since making the switch, Yahya has gone 3-0, earning submission victories in all three bouts, including a pair of first-round stoppages. But while his grappling has always been outstanding, the most noticeable changes have come in his striking and conditioning, both of which have improved exponentially and turned the ground specialist into a more well rounded and dangerous threat.
“I feel very excited for the evolving process,” said Yahya. “If we compare two years ago to now, I’m having my best performances and I’m finally having a chance to fight on pay-per-view. This is the best sequence of wins that I’m having. I had four wins in a row before and now I’m at three wins in a row, but I finished all my fights, with two first-round finishes.
“I have to be thankful to God for keeping my healthy to do this, to give me the wisdom to search for ways to evolve and having the opportunity to grow even more. I’m excited.”
A big part of what has him excited is the opportunity to share the cage with Simon this weekend in Melbourne.
