UFC: ‘stay strong Wuhan’ rings out as Chinese fighters Yan Xiaonan, Song Kenan deliver big in Auckland
- Yan Xiaonan lands biggest win of career over Karolina Kowalkiewicz at UFC Auckland
- Song ‘The Assassin’ Kenan knocks out Callan Potter, as both deliver emotional tributes to China amid coronavirus outbreak
Yan “Fury” Xiaonan landed the biggest win of her UFC career in Auckland on Sunday and then said she had called on “China power” as she formally announced herself as threat to all and sundry in the strawweight division.
The Chinese fighter (12-1, one no contest) outclassed Poland’s one-time title contender Karolina Kowalkiewicz (12-6) across three rounds to get a unanimous decision that took her run in the UFC to 5-0.
Emotions were running high for both Chinese fighters on the UFC Fight Night: Felder vs Hooker card, with welterweight Song “The Assassin” Kenan earlier knocking out Australia’s Callan Potter. before wrapping himself in a Chinese flag and screaming: “Stay strong China, stay strong Wuhan!”
Yan and Song had been forced to shift their fight camps from Beijing to Thailand for fear of the coronavirus which continues to spread across China, and the world.
The disruption – and worries over family and friends back home – took a back seat on Sunday as both fighters focused on matters in front of them inside the cage.