Dana White announced the first title fight for UFC 300 on Thursday morning, stating that Chinese fighters Weili Zhang and Yan Xiaonan will face off at the event.
There is a lot of expectation from fans that UFC 300 will be worthy of its historic track and could be one of the biggest events the promotion has put on, with several title fights.
Despite this, some took to social media to express their disappointment at the revelation, claiming they ‘should have waited’ for an announcement about a fight they had already predicted would happen.
Zhang, the current Straweight champion, will look to defend her title against Xiaonan, who boasts an impressive record of 17-3-0 and has won her last two fights. Several other matches have already been announced for the event, which will take place on April 14 at the T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas.
Charles Oliveira will face Arman Tsarukyan, while Jiri Prochazka will face Aleksandar Rakic. Calvin Kattar takes on Aljamain Sterling, while Bo Nickal takes on Cody Brundage.
Dana White has announced the latest title fight for UFC 300 which will pit Weili Zhang against Yan Xiaonan
Zhang will look to defend her UFC strawweight title at the T-Mobile arena in Las Vegas
Zhang’s fight against Xiaonan will be a colossal match that will also see two Chinese contenders battle for a UFC world title for the first time in history.
And White admitted his excitement about the bout, posting a video to Twitter in the early hours of Thursday morning, saying: “On August 13, 2019, history was made when Weili Zhang defeated Jessica Andrade to become the first Chinese champion in UFC history became.
“Well guess what, five years later we’ll see history made again when Weili Zhang takes on No. 1 contender Yan Xiaonan for the UFC strawweight title at UFC 300.
“And this is the first time two Chinese contenders will face each other for a UFC world title.”
Despite this, his announcement has divided fans online, with some taking to X (formerly Twitter) to express their disappointment.
One wrote: ‘This guy kept us all awake for ONE fight announcement and it was a fight we pretty much knew was going to happen anyway.’
Some fans expressed their disappointment over the fight announcement on X (formerly Twitter)
Yan Xiaonan will challenge for the Strawweight title at the event after winning her two previous fights
“You definitely didn’t keep us waiting for this,” said another.
‘I’ve been waiting all day for this!?’ said another. Another said: ‘I would have gone to bed an hour ago, Dana.’
Despite this, several fans have taken to X to express their excitement for the fight, saying, “Fantastic fight. Yan has been looking like an assassin lately. But will Zhang’s physicality be too much? This fight is happening at the right time and both athletes are peaking.”
Another wrote: ‘Great fight! However, Zhang is a machine.” One X user also said: ‘Let’s go! That’s one hell of a fight. What a time in the UFC!’
‘This is going to be a war. 300 is going to be great,” said another.
“To the people who think this is going to be a boring fight, do you know who these two women are?” said another fan.
Other fans expressed their excitement at the announcement, with one saying: ‘This is going to be a war’
Weili (L) initially lost her strawweight title to Rose Namajunas in 2021, but retained it a year later after defeating Carla Esparza (R)
Xiaonan, 34, has a record of 17-3-0 and is the first Chinese female fighter to sign with the UFC, according to White
White then added, “Why is this a big fight? Let me tell you why. Waili Zhang has 19 finishes in 24 wins. That is a final percentage of 80 percent.
“She is tied for the second most title wins in history and was involved in perhaps one of the greatest fights ever against Joanna Jedrzejczyk. Her last fight was the most dominant, statistical victory in UFC history against Amanda Lemos.”
About her opponent, he added: “Yan is the first Chinese woman to ever sign with the UFC. She has the most head strikes in a single UFC strawweight fight and is coming off a first-round knockout against Jessica Andrade. And she has eight first-round knockouts. This fight has a bad name.”
White finished the video by claiming that he will have two or three more fight announcements “tomorrow (Friday).”
Coming into this fight after three straight wins against Lemos, Carla Esparza and Jedrejczyk, Zhang Weili will look to defend her strawweight position after regaining the title against Esparza.