Ryan Janes glad to be 'back into relevance' with TUF 26 Finale win over tough Andrew Sanchez

LAS VEGAS – Riding a two-fight skid into Friday’s TUF 26 Finale, Ryan Janes knew he was in a delicate spot.

But Janes (10-3 MMA, 2-2 UFC) made sure to rise to the occasion, surviving an early onslaught to score a third-round TKO over heavy favorite Andrew Sanchez (9-4 MMA, 2-2 UFC). Janes not only beat the odds – he did it in exciting fashion. And he believes he sent a message to his fellow middleweights in the process.

“Sanchez is a tough dude,” Janes told reporters backstage at Park Theater in Las Vegas. “(He was a) ‘TUF 23’ winner. Talented wrestler. With a great team, with John Wood over at Syndicate. I think this totally kind of puts me back into relevance. I’m actually a force to be reckoned with. If you don’t come in ready for me, you’re not going to take me out, so to speak.”

Janes believes he “100 percent” saved his career by wining the FS1-televised preliminary card bout. But, still, he wasn’t about to let the do-or-die status of his situation psych him out.

“I knew I had to win this one, but my attitude is pretty jovial,” Janes said. “It was more like, ‘I deserve to be here and I need to prove it.’ The one before this one was close, I almost had the finish. I finally got out with this one. For me, it was about myself. About proving I deserve to be in the UFC.

“I’m one of the best middleweights. One of the best middleweights in Canada. It’s just good to get a win over a ‘TUF’ winner, a tough guy, a known great fighter. So that was the biggest thing for me.”

Janes has now evened out his UFC record. His only octagon win to date had been on his debut, in December 2016, when he scored an unanimous decision over UFC Fight Night 102 opponent Keith Berish. He dropped consecutive losses to Gerald Meerschaert and Jack Marshman after that.

Of course, Friday’s win wasn’t exactly easy. In fact, for a few seconds, it seemed like Janes would be out of there quite quickly. But, confident in both his cardio and his toughness, Janes returned from Sanchez’s first-round storm all the more confident.

“If someone doesn’t put me away in the first, I’m not tired: they are,” Janes said. “They don’t have that in the second, no way. So you just – confident, keep doing what you do, push through it.

To hear more from Janes, check out the video above.

And for complete coverage of The Ultimate Fighter 26 Finale, check out the UFC Events section of the site.