Former UFC strawweight title challenger, Claudia Gadelha (18-4), will be making the walk again on September 26th. Standing across from Gadelha will be Chinese contender, Yan Xiaonan (12-1-1).
Gadelha last fought back in mid-May against Angela Hill. The fight was really close, but the judges gave the fight to Gadelha by split decision. It was Gadelha’s second consecutive win following her decision loss to Nina Ansaroff. Since last competing for the UFC title back in 2016, Gadelha has gone 5-2 over the last few years. A win on September 26th would put her back into title contention.
Yan Xiaonan making waves in the UFC
Since making her UFC debut back in 2017, Yan Xiaonan has been starting to make waves. She has worked her way through all five of her UFC opponents winning every contest by unanimous decision. In her last fight, Xiaonan dominated former title challenger Karolina Kowalkiewicz.
Gadelha and Xiaonan both share another common opponent in Angela Hill. Of course, Gadehla won a close split decision over Hill, Xiaonan on the other hand took a clear unanimous decision in their fight. It’s an interesting matchup that I’ll be curious to see playout.
If Xiaonan is able to defeat Gadelha, the UFC could try to push her up the ladder to challenge Weili Zhang. Perhaps that fight could take place in China making history as the first UFC event headlined by two Chinese born fighters. That would be a massive day in the history of the UFC. The company has made massive investments in the Asian market in recent years, and it’s huge to have top talent coming out of Asia.