UFC 238: Yan Xiaonan survives Angela ‘Overkill’ Hill to strike a blow for China with fourth straight victory
- Chinese fighter shrugs off triangle choke to overpower Angela Hill
- Tidy 4-0 run in UFC will move Yan closer to top ranked strawweight opponent
Yan “Fury” Xiaonan overcame Angela “Overkill” Hill through sheer weight of numbers at the UFC 238: Cejudo vs Moraes card in Chicago on Sunday. The Chinese fighter took a unanimous decision from the judges and stretched her run in the world’s premier mixed martial arts organisation to a tidy 4-0.
Never one to crow too much about her own abilities, the 29-year-old Beijing-based fighter said enough post-fight to let the UFC – and the world – know where she now thinks she stands in the greater scheme of things in the strawweight division.
“I deserve a ranked opponent next, I don’t want to call anyone out, but I want to make into that top 10,” Yan said in her post-fight interview.
Yan (11-1, one no contest) withstood what looked to be a fight-ending triangle choke by her American opponent (9-7) laid on late in the first round, with the bell – and sheer force of will – staving off a tap out that had looked almost certain.
“I made a mistake letting her get me in that position, I was not expecting it,” Yan said. “But I didn’t feel that the fight was over, that’s why she didn’t make me tap out.”
Otherwise, across three back-and-forth rounds it was Yan’s ability to just keep the strikes coming that won the day.