Tag: Yan Xiaonan

Racking up the second successful defense of her strawweight title as part of her second undisputed reign atop the division, Chinese star, Zhang Weili turned in a unanimous decision (49-45, 49-45, 49-45) against compatriot, Yan Xiaonan in the pair’s historic championship co-main event clash at UFC 300.

Weili, the current undisputed strawweight champion, fought through some significant grappling scrambles throughout the distance of their 25 minute clash tonight at UFC 300, however, almost forced a buzzer-beating stoppage win at the end of the first frame.

Locking up a rear-naked choke on Xiaonan, Weili appeared to choke out her countrywoman in the final seconds of the first round, only for Xiaonan to narrowly escape with her consciousness intact, as well as her status in the title fight co-headliner.

With the victory, Weili adds compatriot, Xiaonan to a winning run which consists of a prior title fight defense against Amanda Lemos last year — having toppled Carla Esparza in the pair’s championship fight with a dominant submission victory against the two-time champion.

Below, catch the highlights from Zhang Weili’s decision win over Yan Xiaonan

Opening as a surprising betting underdog to successfully defend her title against Chinese compatriot, Yan Xiaonan ahead of her return to the Octagon last August – a one-sided win for Zhang Weili over challenger, Amanda Lemos appears to have swung the odds her in her favor ahead of their historic UFC 300 title battle in April.

Zhang Weili, the current and two-time undisputed strawweight champion, has been sidelined since she landed a completely one-sided unanimous decision shutout over the surging, Lemos at UFC 292 back in August in Boston, defeating the Brazilian in each round en route to a massive swing in the scorecards and her first successful title defense as part of her second reign.

As for Xiaonan, the divisional contender most recently laid waste to former strawweight champion and common-foe, Jessica Andrade – following in Zhang Weili’s footsteps courtesy of a dominant first round knockout win over the Brazilian back at UFC 288. 

And pairied for a historic, all-Chinese championship affair at UFC 300 in April, defending champion, Zhang Weili has opened as an impressive -345 betting favorite to defeat the Liaoning contender, Xiaonan – who is on a line of +275 currently. 

Zhang Weili favorite to retain title at UFC 300 in April

With fans sure to pour over stats ahead of punting and wagering on a massive UFC 300 card in Las Vegas, they can also try their luck with 32Red bet in pursuit of some major payouts through the casino games and other slots. 

With the addition of Zhang Weili’s monumental title fight with Xiaonan at UFC 300, the massive pay-per-view card continues to bolster a series of huge fight.

Earlier this month, promotional CEO, Dana White confirmed the booking of a long-anticipated clash of former gold holders, Justin Gaethje, and Max Holloway – with the pair set to meet for the symbolic BMF championship. 

A series of other high-profile bouts have also been selected for the card in the form of an officially-billed lightweight title eliminator between former champion, Charles Oliveira, who returns in a high-stakes pairing against streaking Armenian challenger, Arman Tsarukyan.

Former light heavyweight champion, Jiri Prochazka also joins Oliveira on the card, in another potential number one contender fight, as he takes on Austrian contender, Aleksandar Rakic who snaps his two year stay from the promotion.

Furthermore, a clash of former divisional champions and respective knockout artists land on UFC 300, with former flyweight kingpin, Deiveson Figueiredo making his sophomore outing at the bantamweight limit, in a fight against former gold holder, Cody Garbrandt.

Unbeaten middleweight contender and uber-prospect, Bo Nickal also makes his return on the card, taking on Cody Brundage in an eye-catching clash, as the Colorado native searches for his third consecutive win since landing in the Octagon. 

Former undisputed bantamweight kingpin, Aljamain Sterling features for the first time since his record-setting divisional reign came to an end back in August – taking on Calvin Kattar in his first venture to featherweight, ahead of a planned prolonged stay at the 145 pound limit, following his success a divisional lower. 

Undisputed strawweight champion, Zhang Weili is set for her return to the Octagon at UFC 300 on April 13. in Las Vegas, Nevada, taking on compatriot and incoming title challenger, Yan Xiaonan in the first-ever all-Chinese championship pairing under the banner of the promotion.

Weili, the current and two-time undisputed strawweight champion, most recently featured at UFC 292 back in August of last year in Boston, landing a dominant unanimous decision shutout win over Brazilian foe and title challenger, Amanda Lemos, successfully defending her title for the first time as part of her second reign.

As for Xiaonan, the surging number two ranked strawweight contender competes in her first championship bout at UFC 300 in April, riding an impressive run of two consecutive victories into the clash, and fresh from a blistering first round KO win over common-foe, former champion, Jessica Andrade at UFC 288 last year.

Zhang Weili books UFC 300 comeback against compatriot, Yan Xiaonan

UFC CEO, Dana White confirmed the pairing of Zhang Weili and Yan Xiaonan in an undisputed strawweight title fight at UFC 300 during an announcement on his official social media account tonight. 

In the midst of a three-fight winning run, which includes a stunning spinning-back fist KO win over former champion, Joanna Jedrzejczyk, Hebei native, Weili struck strawweight spoils for a second time back in November 2022 at UFC 281, stopping Carla Esparza with a gruesome second round rear-naked choke win at Madison Square Garden.

Boasting an impressive 24-3 professional record, Weili has landed other notable victories over the likes of Tecia Torres, Jessica Andrade, and the above-mentioned Jedrzejczyk during her Octagon tenure.

An alum of the UFC since her 2017 landing, Xiaonan had turned in a prior decision win over Mackenzie Dern to snap a two-fight skid to former champion, Esparza and Marina Rodriguez – which ended her perfect-promotional run. Xiaonan also holds victories over former title challengers, Karolina Kowalkiewicz, and Claudia Gadelha. 

The addition of Weili Zhang’s strawweight title fight against Yan Xiaonan comes as the first championship bout officially set for UFC 300 – which is expected to bring with it a host of high-profile title matchups. 

Who wins at UFC 300 in April: Zhang Weili or Yan Xiaonan?