Yan Xiaonan is over the moon.
The UFC strawweight contender is overjoyed with her win over Mackenzie Dern in the main event of Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 211 in Las Vegas. After 25 minutes of fighting, Yan (15-3 MMA, 6-2 UFC) defeated Dern (12-2 MMA, 7-2 UFC) in a majority decision.
The victory put Yan back in the win column. The Chinese fighter hadn’t tasted victory since November 2020 prior to Saturday night.
“I cannot be happier right now,” Yan said on the ESPN+ post-fight show. “I lost my last two fights, so a year long I didn’t feel happy. I was pretty low in the previous year. I worked so hard hoping this day would come back to me.”
“… I feel very happy that I made the right choice to stay in the U.S. and keep training at Team Alpha Male. The whole team helped me a lot. Mackenzie’s jiu-jitsu is definitely another level. I felt it during the fight. She’s very dangerous. There were a lot of times during the fight it was very dangerous. But I survived through that and I made it.”
Prior to the pair of defeats, Yan was on a 13-fight unbeaten run, with six of those fights under the UFC banner. She was considered a top title contender, and she wants to return to that status.
“My ultimate goal in the UFC is the belt,” Yan said. “Now I have fought the best wrestler in this division, the best striker in this division, the best jiu-jitsu fighter in this division. So no matter who the UFC gives me, I don’t fear. Just, let’s fight.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 211.
