Yan Xiaonan (born June 16, 1989) is a Chinese professional

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting sport based on striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-stylistic contests took place t ...

. She currently competes in the women's

Strawweight Mini flyweight, also known as paperweight, minimumweight, strawweight, or super atomweight, is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing In professional boxing, boxers in the minimumweight division may weigh no more than . This is a relatively new ...

division of the

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promoter (entertainment), promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor ( ...

(UFC). As of April 15, 2025, she is #3 in the UFC women's strawweight rankings, and as of May 13, 2025, she is #13 in the UFC women's pound-for-pound rankings.

Background

Yan's background is in Sanda. Yan attended Xi'an Sports University and was introduced to an MMA program by her coach Zhao Xuejun in 2009. At the Xi'an Sports University, Yan continued her practice in Sanda. It wasn't until 2015 that Yan switched over to MMA.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Yan began training martial arts at the age of 13. She started her professional MMA career in 2009 and she has fought in various promotions, most notably

Road Fighting Championship Road Fighting Championship (Road FC; ) is a South Korean-based mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion which was officially launched in 2010. Prior to December 2016, Road FC had held 52 events in three countries - South Korea, Japan, and China. Abou ...

. She amassed a record of 9–1 (1 NC), before signing with the UFC.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Yan was the first Chinese female fighter signed by UFC. Yan made her UFC debut on November 25, 2017, against

Kailin Curran Jaydene Kailin Asoa Curran (born April 11, 1991) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the strawweight division. She previously fought for the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Early life Curran was born and raised in Ewa Beach, Ha ...

at UFC Fight Night: Bisping vs. Gastelum. She won the fight via unanimous decision. Her next fight came on June 23, 2018, at UFC Fight Night: Cerrone vs. Edwards against

Nadia Kassem Nadia Kassem (born 15 November 1995) is an Australian mixed martial artist who previously fought in the strawweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Background Kassem was born in Wentworthville, New South Wales, Australia. ...

; however she was replaced by

Viviane Pereira Viviane "Sucuri' Pereira (born August 8, 1993) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist and competes in strawweight division. She last competed for Invicta Fighting Championships. A professional mixed martial artist since 2013, Pereira has also fough ...

due to injury. She won the fight via unanimous decision. Yan faced

Syuri Kondo , better known simply as , is a Japanese professional wrestler, shoot boxer, kickboxer and mixed martial artist. She is signed to World Wonder Ring Stardom, where she is the leader of God's Eye as well as the current IWGP Women's Champion in ...

on November 24, 2018, at UFC Fight Night: Blaydes vs. Ngannou 2. She won the fight via unanimous decision. Yan was expected to face

Felice Herrig Felice Nicole Herrig (born September 18, 1984) is an American retired kickboxer, Muay Thai fighter, and mixed martial artist who competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) in the strawweight division. Background Herrig was born in Buf ...

on June 8, 2019, at

UFC 238 ''UFC 238: Cejudo vs. Moraes'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that was held on June 8, 2019 at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois. Background The event was headlined by a UFC Bantamweight Champi ...

. However, on April 30, 2019, it was reported that Herrig suffered from a torn ACL and withdrew from the event. Herrig was replaced by

Angela Hill Angela Patrice Hill (born January 12, 1985) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the women's Strawweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). She was formerly signed with the Invicta Fighting Championships, where ...

. Yan won the fight by unanimous decision. Yan was scheduled to face

Ashley Yoder Ashley Yoder (born October 20, 1987) is an American mixed martial artist and competes in Strawweight division. A professional since 2008, Yoder is most known for her time in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Biography Yoder was born on ...

on October 26, 2019, at

UFC on ESPN+ 20 ''UFC on ESPN: Chiesa vs. Magny'' (also known as ''UFC on ESPN 20'' and ''UFC Fight Island 8'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on January 20, 2021, at the Etihad Arena on Yas Island, ...

. However, Yan pulled out of the fight in late-September citing a foot injury. She was replaced by

Randa Markos Randa Cemil Markos-Thomas (born August 10, 1985) is an Chaldean Iraqi-born Canadian professional mixed martial artist who competes in the strawweight division. She most notably fought in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Personal life ...

. Yan faced

Karolina Kowalkiewicz Karolina Kowalkiewicz (born October 15, 1985) is a Polish mixed martial artist. She currently competes in the women's Strawweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). She is the former KSW Women's Flyweight Champion. Mixed ma ...

on February 22, 2020, at

UFC Fight Night 168 ''UFC Fight Night: Felder vs. Hooker'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 168'' and ''UFC on ESPN+ 26'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on February 23, 2020, at Spark Arena in Aucklan ...

. She won the fight by unanimous decision. Yan talked of difficulty leading up to the Kowalkiewicz fight due to the outbreak of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

in China. She and her team moved her camp to Thailand to train for the fight. Yan was scheduled to face

Cláudia Gadelha Ana Cláudia Dantas Gadelha (; born December 7, 1988) is a Brazilian former professional mixed martial artist who competed in the Strawweight (MMA), Women's Strawweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of 2022, Gadelha ...

on September 27, 2020 at

UFC 253 ''UFC 253: Adesanya vs. Costa'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on September 27, 2020 at the du Forum on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Background The event was orig ...

, but a knee injury sustained by Gadelha ruled her out of the bout. The pair was rescheduled to UFC on ESPN: Santos vs. Teixeira on November 7, 2020, instead. As opposed to her last camp where Yan was forced to move around three times, Yan says that the pandemic situation in China is completely under control and the fight camp for Gadelha was normal. She won the fight by unanimous decision. Yan faced former UFC Women's Strawweight champion

Carla Esparza Carla Kristen Esparza (born October 10, 1987) is an American former professional mixed martial artist and wrestler who most recently competed in the women's Strawweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), in which she is the fo ...

on May 22, 2021, at

UFC Fight Night 188 ''UFC Fight Night: Font vs. Garbrandt'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 188'', ''UFC on ESPN+ 46'' and ''UFC Vegas 27'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on May 22, 2021 at the UFC Ape ...

. For her camp with Esparza, Yan has spent her camp splitting time between the

UFC Performance Institute The UFC Performance Institute is the official mixed martial arts (MMA) training facility for American promotion Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), a division of TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. The ...

in Shanghai and Las Vegas. She lost the bout via TKO after being dominated on the ground throughout the bout. Yan faced

Marina Rodriguez Marina Alcalde Rodriguez (born April 29, 1987) is a Brazilian former mixed martial artist. She competed in the women's Strawweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), achieving an 8-5 record, with 2 draws in the promotion. ...

on March 5, 2022, at

UFC 272 ''UFC 272: Covington vs. Masvidal'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on March 5, 2022, at the T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Area, United States. ...

. She lost the fight via split decision. Yan faced

Mackenzie Dern Mackenzie Lynne Dern (born March 24, 1993) is an American and Brazilian professional mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner currently competing in the women's Strawweight (MMA), Strawweight division of the U ...

UFC Fight Night 211 ''UFC Fight Night: Dern vs. Yan'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 211'', ''UFC on ESPN+ 69'' and ''UFC Vegas 61'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on October 1, 2022, at the UFC Apex ...

. She won the bout via majority decision. As the first bout of her new six-fight contract, Yan faced former UFC Women's Strawweight champion

Jéssica Andrade Jéssica Fernanda da Costa Andrade (born September 25, 1991) is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist. She currently competes in the women's Strawweight and Flyweight divisions of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where she is a ...

on May 6, 2023, at

UFC 288 ''UFC 288: Sterling vs. Cejudo'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on May 6, 2023, at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. Background The event marked the promotion's ninth visi ...

. She won the fight via knockout in the first round. Yan faced

Zhang Weili Zhang Weili (; born August 13, 1990) is a Chinese professional mixed martial artist. She currently competes in the women's Strawweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where she is the current and two-time UFC Women's Straww ...

for the

UFC Women's Strawweight Championship Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champions are fighters who have won UFC championships. Historical notes At the time of the UFC's inception in 1993, mixed martial arts was not sanctioned in the United States, and did not include weight class ...

on April 13, 2024, at

UFC 300 ''UFC 300: Pereira vs. Hill'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on April 13, 2024, at the T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas Valley, United States. Background Ma ...

. She lost the bout by unanimous decision. Yan faced

Tabatha Ricci Tabatha Ricci Fabri Salto (born February 21, 1995) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist, currently competing in the women's Strawweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. As of October 8, 2024, she is #10 in the UFC women's strawwei ...

on November 23, 2024, at UFC Fight Night 248. She won the fight by unanimous decision. Yan faced

Virna Jandiroba Virna Carole Andrade Jandiroba (born May 30, 1988) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist who currently competes in the women's Strawweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). She is a former Invicta Fighting Championships (Invic ...

on April 12, 2025 at

UFC 314 ''UFC 314: Volkanovski vs. Lopes'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on April 12, 2025, at the Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida, United States. Background The event marked the promotion' ...

. She lost the fight by unanimous decision.

Championships and accomplishments

** Performance of the Night (One time) **Tied (

, Tatiana Suarez & Loopy Godinez) for the second longest win streak in UFC Women's Strawweight division history (6) **Seventh most significant strikes landed in UFC Women's Strawweight division history (821) **Most significant head strikes landed in a UFC Women's Strawweight bout (115) (vs.

) **UFC.com Awards *** 2024: Ranked #9 Fight of the Year

Mixed martial arts record

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References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Yan, Xiaonan Living people 1989 births Strawweight mixed martial artists Chinese female mixed martial artists Chinese female Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioners Sportspeople from Shenyang Martial artists from Liaoning Chinese sanshou practitioners Ultimate Fighting Championship female fighters Mixed martial artists utilizing sanshou Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu

Background

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts record

See also

References

External links