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Dana White Remains Coy On Granting Carla Esparza Title Shot

Dana White was impressed by Carla Esparza’s demolition of Yan Xiaonan but remains undecided on granting her a title shot next. Esparza made a compelling case for facing champ Rose Namajunas after making light work of #3-ranked straweight Xiaonan in the…

Continue Reading Dana White Remains Coy On Granting Carla Esparza Title Shot at MMA News.

Carla Esparza Bloodies Yan Xiaonan To Score Second Round Finish – UFC Vegas 27 Highlights

Inaugural UFC and Invicta FC strawweight champion, Carla ‘Cookie Monster’ Esparza was in need of a statement victory to earn a title rematch against Rose Namajunas in her next outing. And with her second round battering of the promotional-perfect contender, Yan Xiaonan — Esparza has likely earned her title re-run. Taking the #3 ranked Xiaonan […]

Taking the #3 ranked Xiaonan down within the opening couple of exchanges, Esparza went to work from the get-go — establishing top position early in the first before riding out the round from the top, laying down some notable elbow strikes resulting in a notable cut on the side of Xiaonan’s head.

Taking down the Liaoning native early in the second again after catching a body kick, Esparza eventually moved to side control and then to a mounted crucifix position — where she began slicing and bloodying Xiaonan with constant strikes, eventually forcing referee, Keith Peterson to step in and award Esparza her fifth consecutive victory. Following the win, the Team Oyama mainstay called for her title re-run against fellow The Ultimate Fighter alum, Namajunas next.

Below, catch the highlights from Esparza’s statement making win over Xiaonan.

Marina Rodriguez Eyeing Fights With Joanna Jedrzejczyk, Yan Xiaonan

Marina Rodriguez is only targeting the top contenders in the women’s strawweight division now. Rodriguez earned a unanimous decision win after fighting five rounds with Michelle Waterson in the UFC Vegas 26 headliner last night. As a result, she earned arguably the biggest victory of her career while making it two wins in a row. […]

Marina Rodriguez is only targeting the top contenders in the women’s strawweight division now.

Rodriguez earned a unanimous decision win after fighting five rounds with Michelle Waterson in the UFC Vegas 26 headliner last night.

As a result, she earned arguably the biggest victory of her career while making it two wins in a row. More than anything, she was looking to put on a show and she did just that with her striking display early on.

“One of the big things was trying to control the distance without making it boring,” Rodriguez said at the post-fight press conference (via MMA Junkie). “At the end of the day that’s what we’re here for. We’re not here to put on boring fight, we’re here to entertain the fans as well.

“She did a very good job at avoiding it, so props to her. I came here to get a knockout if there was a chance and she didn’t put the chance out there. I tried to blitz as much as I could, but I couldn’t get the finish. But that’s props to her.”

Although Waterson is not ranked, she is a big name at 115.

And now that she is coming off a win over her as well as a knockout victory over Amanda Ribas, Rodriguez wants a big name in the top 15.

Two names in particular stand out to the Brazilian who is looking to stay active in 2021.

“I would like to fight a couple more times this year,” Rodriguez said. “Hoping a top-three opponent next time around. Yan (Xiaonan) is fighting (Carla) Esparza now. If she wins, that could be a very good fight. Esparza I fought already, and quite recently, so it’s not a fight I’m very excited to do. Maybe one of us gets the belt and we can fight again.

“Joanna (Jedrzejczyk) is a fight that I’ve always been looking forward (to) and I think the fans are, too. If she’s back and considering fighting again, I would be more than willing to fight her.”

Who do you think should be next for Rodriguez?

Carla Esparza Returns Against Yan Xiaonan In May

Former UFC strawweight champion, Carla Esparza is set to return to the Octagon on May 22 against Yan Xiaonan. MMA DNA was first to report the news and has since been confirmed by several outlets. The UFC has yet to confirm the booking. The location of …

Report – UFC 261 Targeted For Las Vegas On April 24, Singapore Plans Shelved

Tentatively expected to travel to Singapore for an April 24 UFC 261 pay-per-view event, the promotion is now targeting a stay in home base, Las Vegas, Nevada for the card — with plans for a showcase in the Far East shelved for the time being. Floating a strawweight title fight for incumbent gold holder, Zhang […]

Floating a strawweight title fight for incumbent gold holder, Zhang Weili against either former champions, Rose Namajunas or Carla Esparza — reports suggested that the organization were planning on fielding an event in Singapore, on the heels of a recent showing from hometown promotion, ONE Championship.

According to a report from Brazilian outlet, Combate and reporter, Raphael Marinho — the UFC is now planning on hosting the event on familiar Las Vegas soil after talks with the local government broke down, with Weili still earmarked to draw the above mentioned, Namajunas, however, if that matchup fails to come to fruition — the promotion will look to Esparza to tackle the current champion. Should Weili and Namajunas square off, Team Oyama staple, Esparza would then target a matchup against Weili’s compatriot, the surging, Yan Xiaonan.

The promotion has been limited to events in Abu Dhabi, UAE — Jacksonville, Florida and Las Vegas, Nevada amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, with their last expedition from these locations coming in March of last year where they fielded a lightweight main event between Charles Oliveira and Kevin Lee at UFC Fight Night Brasilia — behind a closed gate.

Scoring the first successful defence of her strawweight throne at UFC 248 in March — Weili met with former division queen, Joanna Jedrzejczyk, battling to a close split decision victory, in the promotion’s consensus Fight of the Year.

Earning her number-one rank at 115-pounds, former champion, Namajunas avenged a May 2019 slam knockout loss to former titleholder, Jessica Andrade — besting the Brazilian at UFC 251 in July in another close affair, nabbing a split decision at the ‘Fight Island’ event.

Inaugural UFC and Invicta FC strawweight champion, Esparza has enjoyed a four-fight undefeated streak since her UFC 228 knockout loss to surging challenger, Tatiana Suarez. Scoring a unanimous decision win over Virna Jandiroba, Esparza notched a trio of close decision triumphs over Alexa Grasso, Michelle Waterson, and Marina Rodriguez.

Promotional-perfect contender, Xiaonan has amassed a six-fight undefeated streak in six Octagon outings. The Liaoning native has defeated the likes of Kailin Curran, Viviane Pereira, Syuri Kondo, Angela Hill, and in her two most recent appearances, knocked back former title chasers, Karolina Kowalkiewicz and Claudia Gadelha.

Yan Xiaonan Outpoints Claudia Gadelha – UFC Vegas 13 Results

Kicking off the UFC Vegas 13 main card is a women’s strawweight bout between Claudia Gadelha and Yan Xiaonan. Round 1: Both fighters are swinging early. Gadelha stings Yan with a big jab. She advances forward and trips Yan with a body lock as she enters her guard. She transitions to half guard before hooking […]

Kicking off the UFC Vegas 13 main card is a women’s strawweight bout between Claudia Gadelha and Yan Xiaonan.

Round 1: Both fighters are swinging early. Gadelha stings Yan with a big jab. She advances forward and trips Yan with a body lock as she enters her guard. She transitions to half guard before hooking Yan’s legs. Yan improves her position and stands up but is still controlled by Gadelha who later clinches her up against the fence. Yan throws strikes as she continues to defend a takedown attempt from Gadelha. Both fighters are throwing knees before the referee separates them. Gadelha catches Yan’s leg and grabs a single. Yan is active off her back with strikes but remains controlled by Gadelha who lands a big elbow soon after. The round comes to an end.

Round 2: The pair return to striking. Yan is the quicker striker as s Yan he lands some big strikes but Gadelha isn’t seriously hurt. Gadelha misses a single leg attempt and continues to be on the receiving end of some nice jabs from Yan. It appears Gadelha is taking some minutes off to regain her stamina. Yan lands a big right during a flurry with Gadelha. Yan lands a leg kick but is caught with a one-two from Gadelha. Yan lands a few more strikes but receives a big left hook from Gadelha in return. Yan attempts a spinning backfist which is avoided by Gadelha who clinches her up against the fence to end the round.

Round 3: Yan is more aggressive early on with her jab. Gadelha fails with a single leg attempt but clinches Yan up against the fence as the game plan appears to be get the fight on the ground similar to the first round. Yan separates and they return to striking. Yan stuffs another takedown attempt which is telegraphed and continues to be effective with her jab. Gadelha clinches her up against the fence soon after. Yan continues to throw strikes while defending the takedown. Yan reverses the position and has Gadelha up against the fence. The referee separates them and they return to striking. Yan ends the fight strong and as the more active fighter as she lands a number of strikes that have bruised Gadelha up.

Official result: Yan Xiaonan defeats Claudia Gadelha via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28).