UFC Fight Night: Dern vs. Yan could arguably be one of the most interesting events of the year. The fight card had some amazing bouts set for the event that fans were eagerly waiting for. While the main event revolved around the rising straw-weight title contender, Mackenzie Dern, her opponent Yan Xiaonan, stood in her path to a title shot.
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Mackenzie was the slight favorite coming into the fight and everyone expected her to win her bout by another submission win. But the Chinese fighter had other plans, and she derailed Mackenzie’s title shot dreams.
The main event fight went the distance, and it was Yan who emerged victorious in a majority decision.
How did the fight pan out?
The bout was an excellent clash of grappling and striking skills. Yan Xiaonan successfully resisted both of the takedown submission advances, despite the fact that the Brazilian BJJ fighter, Dern, had fancied herself with a submission win.
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LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – DECEMBER 11: Mackenzie Dern poses on the scale during the UFC 256 weigh-in at UFC APEX on December 11, 2020 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
The Chinese fighter almost tapped out in the dying moments of the final round but beat the clock in just a knick of time.
As the fight went to distance, the judges declared Xiaonan the winner on the scorecard, and Bruce Buffer lifted her hand. In her post-fight interview, she described how she trained specifically to tackle the submission advances of her opponent.
Fans react to Mackenzie Dern vs Yan Xiaonan at UFC Vegas 61
With this win, Yan inched closer to the UFC bantamweight title fight. She has leaped ahead of Mackenzie Dern, who might have to take a longer route to the title now.
This is how the fans reacted.
A fan mentioned that the fight was a close one. He commented, “Think that was the right scorecard, good scrap, dern was closer to finishing the fight but yan won 3 rounds 💯 #UFCVegas61”
Think that was the right scorecard, good scrap, dern was closer to finishing the fight but yan won 3 rounds 💯 #UFCVegas61
Yan Xiaonan just caught a 30 day Facebook suspension
Adult star Kendra Lust replied to a tweet by Angela Hill. The UFC straw-weight fighter, Hill mentioned that Yan looked like an improved fighter. In the reply, Kendra was all praise for both the female fighters.
I thought u won that also. Great fight tonight from the ladies 💪🏻
Another user looked perplexed at the scoring system and displayed his confused state.
NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal was also mentioned in a post that was shared by Spinnin Backfist with the quote, “I owe you an apology. I wasn’t really familiar with your game.”
Dern vs Yan’s grappling #UFCVegas61
The Chinese fighter now stands with an impressive MMA record of 16-3. The ‘Nine’ came into this fight with a two fight loss streak. After scoring a win against an opponent where she was an underdog, fans will hope to see similar brilliant performances in the future.
What do you think of this main event fight? How would you rate it? Let us know in the comments below.
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