It’s an all-Chinese affair in the co-main event of UFC 300 as Zhang Weili defends her strawweight title against powerful contender Yan Xiaonan.
Whilst many of the headlines surrounding UFC 300 have been dominated by the likes of Alex Pereira, Max Holloway, and Charles Oliveira – fans shouldn’t look past what could very well steal Fight of the Night in the co-main event of the evening.
It’s an all-Chinese affair in the co-main event of UFC 300
Zhang Weili returns to the octagon this weekend to defend her strawweight world championship against fellow Chinese star Yan Xiaonan in the co-main event of a truly stacked PPV card.
After suffering back-to-back defeats to Rose Namajunas in 2021, Weili has rattled off three consecutive wins including a vicious KO of Joanna Jedrzejczyk, a submission victory of Carla Esparza to reclaim the 115lb belt, followed by a shut-out decision over Amanda Lemos late last year.
Standing across the octagon from ‘Magnum’ will be 34-year-old contender Yan Xiaonan, who is herself riding a two-fight winning streak that includes a decision win over Mackenzie Dern, and a near-perfect first-round KO of Jessica Andrade in her last outing.
Michael Bisping makes his official prediction for Zhang Weili vs Yan Xiaonan
Former UFC champion and fan-favorite commentator Michael Bisping isn’t working the desk this weekend in Las Vegas, which means he’s able to share predictions for who he thinks will get their hand raised on Saturday evening.
Speaking via the official Michael Bisping YouTube channel, the UFC Hall of Famer noted that whilst Yan Xiaonan has the ability to knock out almost anyone in the 115lb division, he just doesn’t see ‘Magnum’ relinquishing her shiny gold strap anytime soon:
“Yan Xiaonon has great power in her hands, she really does – last time out against Jessica Andrade she caught her boom with a snapping right hand as she was coming in, beat Mackenzie Dern, she’s had tremendous wins, but I don’t think that she’s the one to dethrone Zhang Weili.”
Bisping explained how his prediction comes down not to the victories that Weili has earned in recent years, but to the reaction from one Rose Namajunas after ‘Thug’ defeated her twice in 2021:
“Now Rose has moved on to the flyweight division because she wants to be a two-weight champion but she did say ‘Listen fighting Zhang Weili, even though I won, I never want to experience that again, the pain that I had to endure’; the areas that she had to dig to, she had to go to a dark place and dig really deep to be able to pull that off.”
“That tells you Zhang Weili is a bad person to be locked in an octagon with if you weigh 115lbs when you are a female,” shared the UFC legend, before adding “I don’t think anyone beats her and I don’t think it’s going to be Yan Xiaonan.”
“Listen, fair play this is a huge moment for Chinese MMA, who would have thought we would have been here years ago [with] two Chinese fighters [at the] top of the game, but Zhang Weili is just incredible at 115, I don’t think there’s anyone that beats her.”
Bisping isn’t the only former champion siding with ‘Magnum’
Unsurprisingly, the vast majority of MMA fans, pundits, and fighters are picking Zhang Weili to successfully defend her 115lb title on Saturday evening – including former middleweight champion Israel Adesanya.
Breaking down the co-main event on his YouTube channel, ‘The Last Stylebender’ shared that Weili “just keeps climbing” with each performance in her progression as an all-round MMA wrecking ball.
“I don’t think Zhang Weili is dumb enough to just rush in carelessly trying to knock out Xiaonan, I think Weili is just too strong and too well-rounded, she’s going to pick her shots and her sidekick is almost as good as a jab.”
Ultimately, both Adesanya and teammate Dan Hooker picked Zhang Weili to get the job done by way of unanimous decision – “domination” being the key term here.
Zhang Weili vs Yan Xiaonan is the co-main event of UFC 300 and will be followed by the light heavyweight title fight between Alex Pereira and Jamahal Hill.