“I wanted to show everything I have,” said the 31-year-old in her post-fight interview. “This time I was more conservative and followed everything the coaches told me. This was a different fight. Even though I got taken down twice in the first round, I never gave up. I said, I have to win this fight, so I did it.”

Yan has been working her way into title contention ever since becoming the first Chinese woman to sign with the UFC, back in 2017. There were five straight wins coming into Sunday – all after going the distance, and reflecting Yan’s continued growth as an all-round fighter.

But the fact that compatriot Zhang “Magnum” Weili blasted her way to the title in 2019 – and has defended it since – has taken all the attention away from what else China has to offer among the strawweights.

So far, at least. Yan came to Las Vegas ranked eighth. Now, surely, she moves into the top five – and closer to a title shot against Zhang.

“For this fight, I never gave up. Everybody saw that,” said Yan. “Everyone can see my progress. I’m going to go home, eat a good meal and take a rest.”

Gadelha (18-4) landed a jab early and followed it up with a body lock and takedown. That much was expected from the BJJ stand-out.

But Yan worked hard to stay clear of any locks and worked her way upright again. Gadelha had her against the wire but Yan kept throwing and landing throughout.

The second saw the Chinese fighter keep her range, and just keep picking away with 1-2 combinations and a constant jab that never gave Gadelha a chance to slip in her patented double leg hooks for the takedown.

The Brazilian’s corner must have been counting the shots Yan had landed as they called for more takedowns from their fighter in the third – and stressed that they thought Gadelha needed to take round to win.

But Yan was in her groove, and she just kept landing those fists. By the bell, UFC Stats had it at 234 significant strikes thrown by Yan (133 landing) to 149 and 84 coming the other way.

Yan’s best work previously had always come on her feet, through sheer speed and weight of numbers. But the Chinese fighter had been tucked away at the Sacramento gym of UFC Hall of Famer Urijah Faber (35-11) before the weekend, and they love to grapple at his Team Alpha Male.

That extra work was there for all to see in the first round and now the pure facts are Yan is likely to be thrown in at the deep end of the UFC’s talent-loaded strawweight division. Word is that Zhang will face number one-ranked American “Thug” Rose Namajunas (9-4) come the new year, so that leaves the likes of Poland’s former strawweight champ Joanna Jedrzejczyk (16-4) ahead for Yan. They don’t come tougher.

The 31-year-old Gadelha had arrived on a 2-0 run – and 5-2 over her past seven – and that ensured she had been hovering around another shot at the strawweight title. The commonly held opinion was that she would provide a real test of where Yan was at, especially given the Brazilian’s own rich history in the sport – and fight of the year contender she had with Jedrzejczyk for the title back in 2016.

The fact of the matter is that Yan just keeps getting stronger – and Sunday’s win will have her ready to take on the world.