China's women's grassweight Yan Xiaonan will face a tough battle in UFC 272 on March 6, Beijing time, against Marina Rodriguez, who is officially ranked No. 3. Considering the rankings of both sides, it is possible that the winner of this match will take the next championship challenge.
Yan Xiaonan's current record is 13 wins, 2 losses and 1 no result, including 5 KO opponents win. Since signing with UFC in 2017, Yan Xiaonan has won all six of her first six matches, winning two former championship challengers, Carolina Kołokvić and Claudia Gedha, once reaching the top 3 of the leaderboard. But in a matchup with Carla Espazar in May last year, Yan Xiaonan was terminated by TKO in the second leg.
Marina Rodriguez currently has a record of 15 wins, 1 loss and 2 draws, including 6 KO and 1 surrender win. Rodriguez's only defeat to date at the UFC also came from Carla Espaza, who lost to her opponents in a divisive decision in July 2020. Last year, Rodriguez played three consecutive games, not only leading two headline games, but also winning all three games, and became a popular rookie in the grass class by judging his performance over Watson and Dunn.
Former UFC welterweight champion Marlon Morales hopes to get out of the shadow of a three-game losing streak, and he will play China's Song Yadong at the UFC Fighting Night event on March 13, Beijing time. The two are currently ranked 9th and 14th in the chickweight.
Marlon Morales currently has a record of 23 wins, 9 losses and 1 draw, including 10 KO and 6 downs to win. As former WSOF's junior welterweight champion, Morales excelled at the beginning of his UFC signing, playing a four-game winning streak and qualifying for the vacant welterweight title with Henry Sehudo, but was defeated by rival TKO. Morales' form plummeted after that battle, losing in three consecutive games to Corey Sandhagen, Rob Vonte and Mehrab de Walisvelli, and was defeated by TKO in all three of his last three games.
Song Yadong's current record is 18 wins, 5 losses, 1 draw and 1 no result, including 7 KO and 3 surrender wins. Song Yadong has only lost one game since signing with the UFC in 2017 – a unanimous defeat to Keller Phillips in UFC 259. In addition, in 8 games, Song Yadong won 7 games, beating Malone Villa, who is currently in the top ten. In the past two games, Song Yadong has played another winning streak, defeating Casey Kenny and Julio Arce with a divergent decision and TKO, and bringing himself back to the leaderboard again.
In this 2022 full of unknowns and opportunities, Yan Xiaonan and Song Yadong ushered in two big wars and hard battles, and when the strength is in place, the accumulation of thick and thin hair may only be a moment. Let's wait for the performance of China's strength!