Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC
Gadelha vs. Yan had been planned for UFC 253.
Last week news broke that Claudia Gadelha vs. Yan Xiaonan was off of UFC 253 after Gadelha had suffered an injury. There were fears that this could have meant a lengthy lay-off for the Brazilian, who has suffered knee injuries in the past. However, it seems Gadelha will be back in action soon and will meet Yan next month.
MMA Fighting reports that the UFC is moving Gadelha vs. Yan to an event scheduled for November 7. Sources told that outlet that contracts for the new date were yet to be signed.
Yan, who is ranked 10th in the strawweight division, earned her shot at the 6th ranked Gadelha—who is a former title challenger—after an impressive one-sided victory over Karolina Kowalkiewicz at UFC Auckland in February.
The win over Kowalkiewicz was the 31-year-old’s fifth win in a row and it extended Yan’s undefeated streak to 11 fights (10 wins, one no contest). She joined the UFC in 2017 and beat Kailin Curran in her promotional debut.
Since then she has bested Viviane Pereira, Syuri Kondo, Angela Hill and Kowalkiewicz.
Gadelha challenged for the UFC strawweight title in 2016 but lost a unanimous decision to then-champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk. Since then she has beaten Cortney Casey, Kowalkiewicz, Carla Esparza, Randa Markos and Hill and lost to Nina Ansaroff and Jessica Andrade.
Her last fight was against Hill at UFC on ESPN: Overeem vs. Harris in May.
The UFC’s November 7 show is currently without an announced headliner or venue. With the world still struggling to contend with the COVID-19 pandemic, the event will likely be held at either the UFC APEX facility in Las Vegas or on Yas Island, UAE.
Other bouts announced for that card include Sarah Moras vs. Vanessa Melo (strawweight), Ian Heinisch vs. Brendan Allen (middleweight) and Max Griffin vs. Ramiz Brahimaj (welterweight).