UFC 300 adds Zhang Weili vs. Yan Xiaonan in all-China strawweight title fight

The lineup for the historic UFC 300 event has been bolstered with the addition of a championship fight between Zhang Weili and Yan Xiaonan.

UFC CEO Dana White announced on Wednesday that strawweight titleholder Weili (24-3 MMA, 8-2 UFC) will attempt to make the second title defense of her current reign when she takes on Xiaonan (15-3 MMA, 8-2 UFC) on the April 13 card, which takes place at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas and airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN.

The matchup between Weili, 34, and Xiaonan will be a historic one for the UFC, because it will mark the first time two Chinese-born athletes will meet for a title.

Weili, No. 2 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie women’s pound-for-pound rankings and No. 1 at strawweight, will attempt to do at UFC 300 what she was unable to achieve during his first title reign: Register consecutive defenses. After reclaiming the strap from Carla Esparza at UFC 281 in November 2022, Weili dominated Amanda Lemos by unanimous decision at UFC 292 in August to log her first defense.

Looking to unseat Weili will be No. 5-ranked strawweight Xiaonan, who is riding back-to-back victories over former champ Jessica Andrade and grappling standout Mackenzie Dern. “Fury” has lost just twice in his past 18 fights dating back to October 2010.

The latest UFC 300 lineup now includes:

• Zhang Weili vs. Yan Xiaonan – for strawweight title
• Charles Oliveira vs. Arman Tsarukyan
• Jiri Prochazka vs. Aleksandar Rakic
• Calvin Kattar vs. Aljamain Sterling
• Cody Brundage vs. Bo Nickal

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 300.