Yan Xiaonan knows the only way Mackenzie Dern beats her is if she can get the fight to the mat.
Xiaonan is coming off back-to-back losses to Marina Rodriguez and Carla Esparza but is still getting a big fight next time out as she is set to face Dern. It’s an intriguing fight at strawweight as the winner could be one win away from a title shot and even though Xiaonan is on the losing skid and the betting underdog, she has confidence she will get her hand raised.’
Yan Xiaonan’s Game Plan
“She may do something standing. But it’s just for setup to drag me to the ground because that is the only way she can win this fight, I believe,” Xiaonan said at UFC Vegas 61 media day.
Even though Yan Xiaonan is on a two-fight losing skid, she believes she proved enough in those fights to get her first headlining spot. The Chinese fighter nearly beat Marina Rodriguez earlier this year who is the number one contender, so Xiaonan wasn’t surprised when she got the headlining spot.
“This fight they put me in the main event, so I think UFC, they saw something special in me,” Xiaonan said. “They saw some very high-level things from myself. So that’s why they put me in the main event.
Xiaonan is 6-2 in the UFC and holds notable wins over Claudia Gadelha, Karolina Kowalkiewicz, and Angela Hill among others. Yet, beating Mackenzie Dern at UFC Vegas 61 will likely be the biggest win of her career but she isn’t sure what will be next. Many point to the winner of this fight facing Rose Namajunas next, but Xiaonan, says she doesn’t care who is next as she is just focused on Saturday.
“I don’t think about the next step or what’s going to happen after this fight yet,” Yan Xiaonan said. “I’m only focused on Saturday night.”
Who do you have winning? Yan Xiaonan or Mackenzie Dern?
