The co-main event of UFC 300 showcased a back-and-forth battle between two of China’s best, with Weili Zhang coming out on top and retaining her title.
Weili Zhang vs. Yan Xiaonan Fight Preview
Yan Xiaonan has found much success in her UFC run so far. Starting her tenure with a six-fight win streak, Xiaonan found herself in a tough spot after losing two in a row. Two bounce-back wins saw Xiaonan earn her first UFC finish last May against Jessica Andrade. The win gave Xiaonan a solid case for being the next contender for the belt, which she received on this historical card.
Weili Zhang is one of the best fighters women’s strawweight has ever seen. Her well-rounded game has enamored fans and led her to the championship not once, but twice. Her second run started after a dominant win over Carla Esparza and continued after she dominated Amanda Lemos for five rounds. The latter performance broke the record for the biggest strike differential in women’s history, as she outlanded Lemos 288-21 over five rounds. In her two title runs, she’s gathered two defenses of the title and looks for a third here against Xiaonan.
Fight Recap
Both women came out technical with Xiaonan working her hands and Weili working her kicks. Xiaonan came in with a big combo and was countered hard by the champion who seemed to be trying to take her head off early. After timing a big leg kick, Xiaonan caught the champion off balance and dropped her to the floor. Zhang held her against the cage after landing a big spinning back fist and landed a massive judo throw where she maintained top position and worked to back mount. From there she locked in a rear-naked choke and nearly finished the fight in Round 1. Xiaonan stayed alive but seemed to go out for a second before getting back to her feet.
Weili immediately worked for a quick takedown and found it, looking to wrap right back around the neck. She was able to get out of the bad position but still found herself on the bottom defending. Weili found her way right back to the back and landed some hard punches from back mount. Xiaonan tried to work out but found herself in danger of being choked again. Weili worked into mount and locked up a tight arm triangle which Xiaonan reversed and got back to her feet.
It seemed that Xiaonan had the quicker hands and followed up with a big right hand that dropped the champion. She avoided jumping into Weili’s guard and decided to kick her legs as she laid on her back. Weili landed a big body kick but was outstruck at this point of the round. She closed the distance and looked to land another takedown but was actually taken down by the challenger. Weili kicked her way back to her feet but was tripped and taken down again after her kick was caught.
Championship Rounds
Yan Xiaonan found another early knockdown on the champion who seemed to be slowly wearing down. The fight was razor close but turning in favor of the challenger who was then taken down. Weili continued to land strikes from the top and won the grappling exchanges in this round. She maintained control of the back until the round was over and racked up about half a round of control time.
A crucial fifth round started when the champion came out with a big head kick which she followed with another takedown. Xiaonan slithered out of the position and got back to her feet, continuing to work at a distance before being taken down yet again. Weili continued to work her wrestling on the back of Xiaonan and ended the round with back control.
The scorecards read 49-45 across the board for the champion, who makes her second consecutive title defense with the win.
UFC Fighters React to Weili Zhang Facing Adversity
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Featured Image Credit to Embed from Getty Images
