At the end of the first round of the UFC 300 title bout between Yan Xiaonan and champion Zhang Weili, Joe Rogan felt that Xiaonan had been given smelling salts by her corner. This was quickly corrected by lead commentator Jon Anik, who reiterated that no smelling salts were used.

Some fans, however, were not convinced and felt that there was something fishy since the cornerman put something in Fury’s nostrils. On his ‘MMA Hour’ show, veteran MMA journalist, Ariel Helwani was joined by UFC veteran Dan Hardy, who gave his brief take on the subject.

Dan Hardy shares his insight on the UFC 300 smelling salts situation

Zhang Weili dominated Yan Xiaonan in their all-Chinese title bout in the co-main event of the UFC 300 title clash. In fact, after Weili caught ‘Fury’ in a deep rear naked choke hold at the end in the final few moments of the first round, Xiaonan seemed out on her feet, stumbling around and struggling to get to her corner. The referee, however, decided to continue the fight as Xiaonan got to her corner.

This is when one of Xiaonan’s corner members was caught on the corner cam asking the others if he should wake the UFC’s first Chinese fighter up, which the viewers found suspicious. The cut man, having gotten approval from her coach, proceeded to put something up her nose, which some, including Rogan, mistakenly thought were smelling salts.

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UFC veteran and analyst, Dan Hardy was asked by Ariel Helwani about his thoughts on the smelling salts controversy and whether the bout should have been stopped at the end of the first round.

Before letting Hardy answer, Helwani pointed out that while there were talks of smelling salts during the bout, and the conduct of the cut man had raised some suspicions, it turned out to be ice that was put up ‘Fury’s nose, per the journalist. “And then and then we come to find out that there were no smelling salt involved. The cut man… I think he put his thumb up her nose with some ice or something like that,” Helwani remarked.

While Hardy did not seem to have a clear picture of whether it was ice being used or not, with him replying with a, “Was it?” to Helwani’s comment, he did have a strong opinion on whether or not the fight should have been stopped with a, “Yeah, probably”.

The incident actually reminded the former UFC fighter about Donald Cerrone being knocked out by Jorge Masvidal at the end of the first round of their 2017 clash, and being woken up by his corner only to be knocked out in the second. And while most people agreed that Weili-Xiaonan  could have been stopped at the end of the first round, it would have robbed fans of a fantastic close comeback from ‘Fury’.

Xiaonan drops Weili twice in the third round after horrible first two rounds

Zhang Weili started off the fight almost perfectly, maintaining a strong control on the fight as she caught Xiaonan in a deep rear naked choke hold. Potentially an extra 10 seconds on the clock in the initial round could have weighed matters in favor of the two-time UFC Women’s Strawweight Champion early on itself. But the referee decided to continue and the second round was, for the most part, a repeat of the first as Weili, yet again, almost finished ‘Fury’, who bravely held on and made it through the round.

At this point, Weili looked well on her way to securing a win with a finish being expected over the following three remaining rounds. But the whole fight almost flipped on its head in the third round. Living up to her moniker, ‘Fury’ mounted a furious counter-attack, and managed to drop Weili twice. The championship rounds, however, saw the Handan native regain the momentum and do enough to earn a unanimous decision in her favor.