Weili Zhang to Defend Strawweight Title Against Xiaonan Yan at UFC 300

UFC 300 has its first title fight.

UFC CEO Dana White announced Wednesday evening that reigning strawweight title holder Weili Zhang will defend her belt against Xiaonan Yan at the April 13 event.

“This is the first time two Chinese contenders have faced off for the world title,” White said.

A two-time 115-pound champion, Zhang enters her matchup with Yan on a three-bout winning streak. The Fight Ready standout reclaimed the belt with a second-round submission of Carla Esparza at UFC 281 before authoring a successful title defense with a five-round verdict over Amanda Lemos at UFC 292 this past August. “Magnum” initially claimed strawweight gold with a 42-second TKO of Jessica Andrade in August 2019 but would later relinquish the belt to Rose Namajunas. The 34-year-old is 8-2 during her promotional tenure and 24-3 as a professional overall.

Yan, meanwhile, has also been victorious in eight of her 10 Octagon appearances. Most recently, “Fury” punched her ticket to a title shot with a first-round knockout of Andrade at UFC 288 last May. Her ledger also includes notable triumphs over the likes of Mackenzie Dern, Claudia Gadelha, Karolina Kowalkiewicz and Angela Hill, among others.

UFC 300 takes place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas and also includes a lightweight title eliminator pitting Arman Tsarukyan against Charles Oliveira. White is expected to announce more title fights for the card in the near future.

BREAKING NEWS: Zhang vs Yan will happen at #UFC300. The first ever Chinese vs Chinese title fight. pic.twitter.com/ztyTnbCxHi

— danawhite (@danawhite) January 11, 2024