Zhang Weili dominated Yan Xiaonan to retain her women’s strawweight title at UFC 300.
Saturday’s co-main event marked the first time two Chinese fighters competed for a UFC title and the pair produced a drama-filled showdown at the T-Mobile Arena.
Just minutes after Max Holloway’s last-second knockout of Justin Gaethje, Zhang appeared to have secured his own buzzer-beater when he applied a rear-naked choke in the closing seconds of the first round.
Yan appeared to be on the verge of giving up, but held his ground and was rescued at the end of the round, although there was some confusion over whether the challenger had actually been briefly knocked unconscious.
After recovering between rounds, Yan was immediately forced to retreat in the second.
Zhang Weili defeated Yan Xiaonan in the co-main event of UFC 300 to retain her women’s strawweight championship.
Zhang seemed to have secured a submission victory in the first round, but Yan was able to survive until the end of the round.
The 34-year-old again looked to have secured the finish in the next frame, but Yan recovered to make it to the end of the fight.
An exhausted Zhang was forced to rely on her fight at all times, but was able to watch the fight and defend her title.
Referee Jason Herzog seemed prepared to intervene after Zhang secured a dominant position and began throwing punches, but Yan was eventually able to reverse the position and survive again until the end of the round.
Having twice come within seconds of finishing the fight, Zhang looked very fatigued in the third, allowing the pendulum to swing in her opponent’s favor.
However, Zhang secured his control of the third in the penultimate round, again taking the challenger’s back and looking to secure a submission, but was denied once again.
Yan’s grappling deficiencies were laid bare in the closing stages, as the champion again managed to secure a dominant position and threatened submissions en route to a decision victory.