Yan Xiaonan survives Mackenzie Dern’s grappling in majority-decision victory

Yan Xiaonan placed on a present for the followers — make that fan, singular — in the primary occasion of UFC Struggle Evening on Saturday in Las Vegas.

Yan received the higher of Mackenzie Dern in standup combating and survived relentless grappling threats by her multiple-time jiu-jitsu world champion opponent to earn a majority-decision victory in a gathering of top-10 strawweights headlining a card at UFC Apex.

There have been no followers or media in attendance for Saturday’s card aside from Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and company. Zuckerberg was seen on TV sitting within the entrance row after arranging to have the constructing all to himself. UFC president Dana White had denied the existence of an association with Zuckerberg earlier within the week.

Yan (16-3, 1 NC), who’s No. 5 in ESPN’s 115-pound rankings, ended a two-fight shedding streak, however the victory didn’t come with out moments of trepidation. Within the second and fifth rounds, Dern had Yan in serious trouble on the canvas, transitioning from one submission menace to a different. However Yan defended properly, and afterward she expressed pleasure in that effort.

“I do know her jiu-jitsu is superb,” Yan stated by way of an interpreter. “She’s a black belt. I am a white belt. So I knew what I ought to count on on this battle. However I skilled so onerous — 4 instances, 5 instances on grappling throughout this camp — so I knew I might do that.”

The sixth-ranked Dern (12-3), a 29-year-old from Huntington Seaside, California, has misplaced two of her previous three after compiling a four-fight successful streak.

Dern started competing in jiu-jitsu at age 5 and has gained a dozen medals in world championship tournaments. She has earned 4 of her seven UFC wins by submission, probably the most of any 115-pound fighter.

In Saturday’s bout, Dern had problem getting the battle to the mat, touchdown simply two of her 11 takedown makes an attempt. However when she did handle to get Yan down, Dern was fluid in threatening the whole lot from chokes to armbars to leg assaults. However she could not end the job.

Two of the three judges scored the bout 48-47 for Yan, and the third scored it 47-47, awarding a 10-8 fifth spherical to Dern, who took Yan to the canvas within the opening seconds and threatened a end almost to the ultimate horn.