Dana White Announces Zhang Weili vs Yan Xiaonan For UFC 300
Strawweight Champion Zhang Weili Faces Yan Xiaonan In All-China Title Fight
UFC CEO Dana White announced yet another marquee matchup for UFC 300 in Las Vegas as strawweight champion Zhang Weili defends her belt against Yan Xiaonan on April 13.
The bout marks the first time two Chinese fighters will compete for a UFC title and comes nearly five years after Zhang became the first Chinese champion with a first-round knockout win over Jéssica Andrade in August 2019.
After reclaiming her belt with a win over Carla Esparza in November 2022, Zhang defended her belt in historically dominant fashion at UFC 292 in Boston against Amanda Lemos. In that bout, Zhang landed nearly 270 more strikes than Lemos en route to a unanimous decision win.
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On the other side, Yan is a history-maker in her own right. When she made her debut in November 2017, she became the first female Chinese UFC fighter. In 10 fights, she is 8-2 and most recently knocked out Andrade in the first round of their bout at UFC 288. Yan comes into the fight on a 2-fight winning streak, bouncing back from a 2-fight skid.
The fight has action-packed written all over it. Zhang is 4-2 in title fights with all of her wins earning her a Performance Bonus, including 2020’s Fight of the Year against Joanna Jędrzejczyk at UFC 248, and she has finished 19 of her 24 professional wins. Yan has the goods to stand and trade with Zhang, boasting eight knockout wins of her own.
The two 34-year-olds join an increasingly stacked card, which includes the recently announced lightweight matchup between former lightweight champion Charles Oliveira and surging contender Arman Tsarukyan. White touted the bout as a “No. 1 contender fight” with the winner likely earning a shot at lightweight champion Islam Makhachev at a later date.
White also mentioned more announcements to come in the very near future regarding UFC 300. Stay tuned to UFC.com for any updates concerning events and fights.
