Depending on how this October headliner shakes out, the Ultimate Fighting Championship could have a top
strawweight contender on deck.
According to ESPN
on Friday, the Oct.
1 UFC Fight Night event – one that does not currently have a
location designated – will have a strawweight headliner. The
five-round main draw comes between Mackenzie
Dern (12-2) and Xiaonan Yan
(15-3), which comes between two women currently ranked in the top
five of their division.
Dern bounced back from a 25-minute decision defeat to Marina
Rodriguez in October 2021 by claiming a split verdict over the
resurgent Tecia
Torres in April. That loss to Rodriguez halted a four-fight win
streak with three submissions, as she tapped Nina Nunes,
Randa
Markos and Hannah
Cifers on her way up the 115-pound rankings. Beyond Rodriguez,
the only other woman to beat Dern is Amanda
Ribas, who also snagged a decision win over Dern in 2019. As a
pro, the Arizona native celebrates nearly 60% of her wins by
submission.
Unlike her opponent, Yan has never won a fight by tapout, with
every stoppage for her coming due to strikes. A professional since
2008, the woman from China is currently on the first-ever losing
streak. A six-bout win streak inside the Octagon led to a match
with former and future champ Carla
Esparza, and Yan suffered the first knockout loss of her
career. An attempt at a rebound led to her meeting Rodriguez, and
like Dern, Yan lost on the scorecards. Prior to those two losses,
“Fury” had amassed a 13-fight unbeaten streak.
The UFC’s Fight Night offering on Oct. 1 is still under
consideration for its venue. Aside from the aforementioned new
headliner, four additional fights are already booked for its
billing. At bantamweight, Guido
Cannetti takes on Randy
Costa. In the lightweight division, Vinc Pichel
squares off with Jesse
Ronson. Finally, two women’s bouts are listed, including a
145-pound contest between Leah
Letson and Chelsea
Chandler, and a strawweight clash pitting Tabatha
Ricci against Cheyanne
Vlismas.