Yan Xiaonan Plans On Lighting Up The Stadium At UFC Macau

Now, after a UFC career spent largely in the United States, the chance to come home to China and compete has Yan feeling excited and proud in equal measure. 

Fighting on home soil brings extra pressures, too, and Yan's friends and family have been clamoring to secure tickets to watch her in action this week. 

Yes, there's a lot of friends that are coming to watch my fight in Macau. I'm very excited, and also, I'm very nervous," she admitted.

Breaking Down The Road To UFC Finale

The fight will be Yan's third bout in China, having outpointed Kailin Curran in her Octagon debut in Shanghai back in 2017, then decisioned Syuri Kondo in Beijing the following year.

The memories of those two fights are still fresh, and Yan couldn't help a small smile as she recalled her two previous UFC wins on home soil.

"I still remember in the stadium, everyone screaming all of their lungs, but my most impressive impression was back in 2017 when UFC first came to China, in Shanghai," she said.

"I can still feel the adrenaline rush inside my body. It’s like pumping (around) all of my body."

Since then, Yan has fought seven times, with six of them taking place in the United States, as she has taken on the best of the best at 115 pounds. Defeats to former champion Carla Esparza and Brazilian contender Marina Rodriguez were valuable learning fights as she found her feet at the elite level of the division, and back-to-back victories over Mackenzie Dern and Jessica Andrade put her in line to face Zhang for the strawweight title.

Their meeting at UFC 300 ended in defeat for Yan, who lost out on the scorecards with 49-45 scores across the board for Zhang, who retained her title. But, despite suffering the heartbreak of a title fight defeat, Yan said that the experience of a title fight on such a huge card will stand her in good stead for her next run at the belt.

"I think my performance was OK, and I think I learned a lot,  especially (about) the title shot experience," she explained. 

"Next time, I will correct my mistakes and get more ready for the next title run."

Yan will look to bounce back this weekend at UFC Fight Night: Yan vs. Figueiredo, where she'll take on rising Brazilian contender Tabatha Ricci in the co-main event at Galaxy Arena.

The bout offers Yan the opportunity to put on a crowd-pleasing performance in front of her own fans and re-establish her championship credentials with a strong performance.

"For me, my attitude for every match is to just focus on the single match, and if I fight well, I'll be back to the contender list. So just perform well and focus on this test, this match," she explained.

"My opponent, Tabatha Ricci, is good at moving forward, giving the pressure and doing some judo skills. Me and my team, we have a strategy on how to play against her. And I think if we play well, we can take the victory.

RELATED: Tabatha Ricci Interview

"I think it will be a very fantastic fight, because she has heavy forward pressure. And for me, I also like to push forward, push the pace. I'm also a finisher, so I think our fight will just light up the whole stadium."

Yan prepped for the bout in Sacramento, California, at her home away from home, Team Alpha Male, but was excited to bring some of her teammates across to Macau to give them their first experience of her homeland

"It was a perfect training camp, because I trained at Team Alpha Male, but two weeks before the fight night, in consideration of the jet lag, we came to the UFC Shanghai PI to do the final preparations," she said. 

"Right now, I don't have any specific hopes or ambitions for 2025, so now I just want to finish my 2024 with a perfect ending."

And with Yan all set to make the walk to the Octagon for the 12th time in her mixed martial arts career, Yan said nerves won't be a problem. Long gone are the early days when she had to fight off the pre-fight jitters before her bouts. She's proved her ability and knows she belongs. Now all that remains is for her to step into the cage and do what she does best.

"Every time when I was backstage, especially when they counted down from three to one, I was so nervous because the environment was so noisy. 

"But as soon as the music starts playing and all the lights focus on me, I just feel like I don't care anymore. I just focus on putting on a good show."