Weili Zhang and Yang Xiaonan, UFC 300 ceremonial weigh-in Credit: Gabriel Gonazalez/Cageside Press
The co-main event of UFC 300 featured battles across China, pitting women’s strawweight champion Weili Zhang against top contender Yang Xiaonan.
While this matchup was historic, it was the unfortunate follow-up to the BMF title fight between Max Holloway and Justin Gaethje.
Perhaps taking it as a boost of inspiration, the strawweight pair traded early, with Xiaonan in particular swinging for the fences. Zhang then caught the oncoming challenger, but Xiaonan simply bullrushed the champion to secure a takedown. It didn’t last long, but Xiao Nan knocked down Zhang right after, probably because Weili lost her balance.
But Chan lands a throw shortly after, briefly looking for a crucifix before switching to side control and then taking the back! With the hook in, Chan locked up a rear naked choke and it was tight! With 10 seconds left for him, Xiaonan gave a thumbs up, and then, just before the bell rang, the moment Zhang released his hold, he seemed to momentarily lose consciousness. It didn’t matter if she was out or just on the cliff. Because she staggered a little bit and got back up and she was able to get back to her corner. So the cutman did what he could to bring Xiaonan back to her senses by applying pressure near her nose.
However, Weili Zhang, sensing the smell of blood in the water, pulled the fight back early in the second round. Rather than strangling him again, Xiaonan turned onto his back. Zhang came out on top with a half guard scramble. However, she took the back again, flattened Yang Xiaonan, and began teeing off with her left and right hands. The referee took a look but let it go. Still, this was the second time in two rounds that the match was almost decided. Meanwhile, Zhang went for an arm triangle choke, but Xiaonan managed to get out and reverse. The champion slides out from behind, but gets back to his feet in the final 30 seconds, and Xiaonan lands at least once.
Early in the third, Yan Xiaonan turned the tables and connected with a flush to drop Zhang. The challenger then hit a chop on Weili’s leg and the referee brought Weili to his feet. Zhang looked out of gas and groggy after a busy first two rounds. Both players connected with about two minutes remaining, and Zhang was at a disadvantage. They went down with Xiaonan in the lead, but they didn’t stay there. Xiaonan caught a kick right after and threw her champion away, but in the end couldn’t hold her back.
Yang Xiaonan scored another knockdown early in the fourth round with a left-right combo landing. Chan got back up and hit a knockdown combo. As they grounded out against the fence, Zhang barely maintained control and looked to make a comeback against a very slippery and scrambling Xiaonan. However, Zhang gets hooked and things come to a standstill. It takes quite a while, but Zhang starts dropping hammerfists in back control, flattening Xiaonan. Her back was too high for her to choke, but she managed to get the other hook in, but time ran out on the round.
A solid fourth round for the champion likely gave her a 3-1 lead in the battle heading into the final frame. Xiaonan also received a warning for grabbing the fence between rounds. But they weren’t even close to the fence anyway when Chan broke the attempt and took her down. However, Xiaonan managed to scramble out and lift Zhang with a butterfly hook.
The next takedown was taken by Weili Zhang in side control. She moved back and put in her hook. Xiaonan tried to spin out but was unable to do so, allowing Zhang to adjust and rise to the top position. Precious seconds were ticking down as Xiaonan remained exposed on the ground. Yang Xiaonan fought tenaciously until the end and had some close calls, but in the end she was unable to overtake champion Weili Zhang.
Official result: Zhang Weili def. Yang Xiaonan unanimous decision (49-45, 49-45, 49-45)
