“I am aware of this, that if I win this fight there is the chance that I might fight Weili,” the 31-year-old Yan told SCMP MMA. “That is the direction I want to go in. Of course we know each other, although we are not close friends.

“We are in different gyms but I have watched her like everyone else. I think I am faster than her so I can beat her. I think about this a lot, about how to beat her. Because we are both Chinese I think I know how to fight her better than everyone else, and I know how to beat her.”

That’s all for the future to decide, with a possible title clash between Zhang and former champion and number one-ranked American “Thug” Rose Namajunas (9-4) mooted for the new year, and the fact that Yan must first get past the fourth-ranked Gadelha this weekend.

The Chinese fighter has had plenty of time to think about this particular fight, too, given the fact it was originally slated for the UFC 253: Adesanya v Costa card on September 26 before Gadelha damaged a knee in training.

Rescheduling the bout has meant an extended stay away from home for Yan but the major positive to come out of it has been a fight camp spent under the gaze of UFC Hall of Famer Urijah Faber (35-11) at his Team Alpha Male gym in Sacramento – alongside China’s 14th-ranked bantamweight Song “The Kung Fu Monkey” Yadong (16-4-1, one no contest).

“The whole team have made me feel at home,” said Yan. “I don’t feel like I have been visiting, I feel like I belong there and Urijah has been great. He has been working with my wrestling and giving me tips on how to fight Claudia, and I think this will help me a lot. My condition, physically and mentally, is very good. I feel as good as I have ever felt.

“Having Yadong there meant we talked a lot and we’d go out for dinner a lot and I visited his home. It has been good to have him there in the gym to talk to and share experiences with.”

Yan has been swept up by circumstance this past year, with Covid-19 travel restrictions throwing preparations for her previous bout – against Poland’s former title contender Karolina Kowalkiewicz (12-6) at UFC Fight Night 168 – out of kilter. Yan was forced to make a mad dash to Thailand to finish off her fight camp, and didn’t really know whether she’d even be allowed into New Zealand until the moment she walked on to her flight.

But Yan’s efforts inside the Spark Arena in February were the defining ones of her career so far.

Yan worked Kowalkiewicz over on her feet, landing 157 strikes to her opponent’s 51, while taking her down to the mat five times across the three rounds, according to UFC Stats.

In taking the unanimous decision, Yan fully captured the attention of her nation back home, finally, some three years after she became the first Chinese woman to sign for the UFC.

Social media in China went nuts over an image of Yan’s left foot landing flush on Kowalkiewicz’s face.

“That fight affected me a lot personally and it has also had a great impact on my career,” said Yan. “I threw that perfect sidekick and it was a social media sensation in China and so many people now know me. They knew Karolina was a famous fighter, too, so that has really helped me become better known.”

The problems Yan is set to face in the shape of Gadelha are obvious ones.

The Brazilian had been through the wars over six years in the UFC, including Fight of the Nights against former champs in Poland’s Joanna Jedrzejczyk (16-4) and Brazil’s Jessica “Bate Estaca” Andrade (20-8). But Yan said she was fully prepared.

“Working with Urijah has helped build the confidence I need to fight someone like Claudia, a grappler,” said Yan. “Right now I am very confident in the technique I learned from Alpha Male. With Claudia it is all about her grappling. That’s the most dangerous thing for me to face.

“But for me I have my boxing, my hands and my footwork. They will make all the difference. They are the key elements because I think I am way faster than Claudia. I will use my feet, my pace, to beat her.”