In a high stakes strawweight bout with huge divisional impacts, former title challenger and #1 ranked contender, Yan Xiaonan, faced off against grappling ace and #3 ranked, Virna Jandiroba, on the undercard of UFC 314.
Xiaonan was looking to rebound from her title loss to Zhang Weili last April, already beating Tabatha Ricci last November. Jandiroba had quietly stacked four victories since 2022, submitting Amanda Lemos by arm bar last July.
The fight started off with Yan getting right to work with darting jabs to the body. Jandirboa timed one of Yan’s attacks and looked for a takedown. Xiaonan shucked off her opponent despite Virna getting to her legs. Jandiroba looked a little slow with her hands but two minutes into the round finally corralled her opponent with a takedown. Jandiroba eventually got Xiaonan to the cage and drug her to the ground.
Yan found herself flat on her back near the cage, desperately trying to defend against a kimura and then an armbar. Xiaonan found herself in an awkward position in a modified closed guard, still trying to land shots off of her back. With seconds left to the round, as Yan tried to rise to her feet, Jandiroba jumped to the kimura. The submission was close, but Yan defended, and Virna expertly flowed to an arm bar. Yan just held on to the end of the round, narrowly avoiding her arm being fully extended.
To open the second round Yan looked a lot more cautious. Staying far from the takedown on the outside. But less than thirty seconds later, when she threw her first strike, Virna timed yet another successful takedown. With four minutes left in the round, Jandiroba glided to her opponent’s back, locking in hooks. Virna continued to tenderize Xiaonan with short strikes while looking to lock in the rear naked choke. Cross face after cross face, Virna kept raking her forearm across the face of Yan looking for the submission. After an unsuccessful arm bar attempt Xiaonan escaped, stood and rained down strikes. Her efforts were futile as Jandiropba took the opportunity to lock in another armbar attempt. Xiaonan survived the attempt and another attempt on her arm before the round ended.
Yan went right back to it. Dancing on the outside hands nearly at her knees looking to defend against the shot. Jandiroba still looked stiff on the feet throwing kicks that were far from the mark. Yan was using her bike now, sticking and moving laterally. With three minutes left in the round Jandiroba entered on a takedown and was quickly thwarted. After a few shots from Yan, Virna reentered on a shot and forced her opponent against the cage. Overcoming a clear fence grab from Yan, Virna dragged the #1 ranked contender to the mat once again. With less then a minute left in the round Jandiroba sunk her hooks in and peppered Yan with short strikes. At the very end of the round, Virna still viciously hunted the finish as Yan had to be saved by the bell once again from a fully extended arm bar
Official Result: Virna Jandiroba defeats Yan Xiaonan via Unanimous Decision, 30-27 x3
