As Yan approaches her forthcoming battle with Ricci at UFC Macau, a look at five of the many moments that have come to define her:
1. Lack of Dimension
Karina Hallinan handed Yan her first professional defeat when she submitted the China Top Team product with a rear-naked choke in the first round of their Martial Combat 10 co-main event on Sept. 16, 2010 at the Resorts World Convention Centre in Sentosa, Singapore. The curtain fell 3:29 into Round 1. Yan was the aggressor at the outset and swarmed the American with punches. Hallinan regrouped in the clinch, executed a takedown and settled in side control. From there, she slid into full mount, tuned up her ground-and-pound and forced Yan to surrender her back. The choke was in place soon after, prompting the tapout. The result forced Yan to reassess her approach and round out her skills. She would not lose again for more than a decade.
2. A Bridge Too Far
Carla Esparza called upon her considerable guile and experience when she took out Yan with punches in the second round of their UFC Fight Night 188 co-headliner on May 22, 2021 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. “Fury” succumbed to blows 2:58 into Round 2. Esparza completed all three of her takedown attempts, piled up nearly five minutes worth of control time and methodically wore down her counterpart. She hacked open a cut on Yan near the end of the first round, then turned up the heat in the middle stanza. Esparza secured her final takedown and advanced to a mounted crucifix, cutting lose with elbows and punches until the job was done. By the time it was over, she had outlanded Yan by an eye-popping 170-31 margin. The loss snapped her 14-fight unbeaten streak.
3. Turning Point
Yan outstruck and outfoxed Mackenzie Dern to a majority decision in their five-round UFC Fight Night 211 main event on Oct. 1, 2022 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Scores were 48-47, 48-47 and 47-47. Yan managed to stay on her feet long enough to bank the requisite points across 25 minutes, denying repeated takedown attempts and hammering away with crisp combinations to the head, all while attacking the body and legs with kicks. Dern made her moves in the second and fifth rounds, where she dragged her counterpart to the canvas and went to work with her world-class jiu-jitsu skills. The 2015 Abu Dhabi Combat Club Submission Fighting World Championships gold medalist threatened with an arm-triangle choke in Round 2 and an armbar in Round 5. Yan survived both and left her fate to the judges, who rewarded the Team Alpha Male rep for her efforts.
4. Quantum Leap
In what can only be described as a genuine breakthrough performance, Yan established herself as the No. 1 contender for the women’s strawweight championship when she buried Jessica Andrade with punches in the first round of their UFC 288 showcase on May 6, 2023 at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. The stoppage was called 2:20 into Round 1. Yan made “Bate Estaca” pay for her textbook aggression at every turn, unleashing counters with power and precision. Andrade never adjusted. Yan caught her moving forward with a perfectly timed overhand right, then pounced on the fallen Brazilian with follow-up punches for the finish.
5. Access Denied
Weili Zhang waded through considerable difficulty to retain her undisputed women’s strawweight championship with a unanimous decision over Yan in their five-round UFC 300 co-main event on April 13, 2014 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. “Magnum” swept the scorecards from her countrywoman—it was the first-ever UFC title fight between Chinese competitors—with matching 49-45 marks from all three cageside judges. Yan proved herself a worthy contender in defeat, flooring the off-balance champion on multiple occasions with stout right hands. However, it was not enough to overcome the discrepancy in all-around skill. Zhang appeared to put her to sleep with a rear-naked choke as the bell sounded at the end of the first round, only to see the challenger awake and rise to her feet as soon as she was released. She had Yan in trouble again in Round 2, where she progressed to the back, flattened her out and let fly with punches for another near finish. Only restraint from referee Jason Herzog allowed the bout to continue. Zhang fought through fatigue across the final 15 minutes, turning to her grappling over and over again when the opportunity presented itself. She dragged Yan to the canvas twice in the fifth round, kept her contained and piled up points with moderate ground-and-pound.