Yan Xiaonan was visibly dazed and woozy as she rose to her ft on the finish of Spherical 1 throughout the UFC 300 co-main occasion however says at no level was she completely unconscious.
Caught in a Zhang Weili rear-naked choke try, Xiaonan (17-4 MMA, 8-3 UFC) was saved by the bell then struggled to get to her nook. Referee Jason Herzog took an in depth look however didn’t deem the title challenger unable to proceed.
“I used to be shut, however not fully out,” Xiaonan advised MMA Junkie on Wednesday by a translator. “I noticed the clock on the cage aspect and knew there have been just a few seconds left. I signaled to the referee that I used to be OK, however with just one hand to defend, the choke was tightening. When the bell rang, I knew I needed to stand as much as present I might proceed. I used to be wobbly however managed to make it to my nook.”
The bizarre sequence and the officiating that accompanied it frenzied some viewers. When Xiaonan’s cornerman pressed his finger underneath her nostril, UFC 300 commentators Daniel Cormier and Joe Rogan talked about on the published the potential of smelling salt getting used – although they later clarified they in the end didn’t assume it transpired, in spite of everything.
“He put his finger underneath my nostril and pressed,” Xiaonan stated. “Truthfully, I used to be so targeted on my cornermen speaking that I didn’t discover a lot else. And I additionally requested my nook which spherical is subsequent? Second? As a result of I form of couldn’t keep in mind it at that second.”
For now, Xiaonan hits the reset button. What the oddsmakers listed as a probable lopsided affair turned out to be a aggressive contest that earned her props from many across the MMA neighborhood, together with UFC CEO Dana White.
Weili (25-3 MMA, 9-2 UFC) went on to win by unanimous choice. The subsequent transfer hasn’t been discovered, however Xiaonan maintains her enthusiasm popping out of her first UFC title problem.
“I’ll preserve coaching and combating the highest contenders the UFC offers me, with the objective of combating for the title once more,” Xiaonan stated. “And, if the UFC considers a girls’s BMF belt, rely me in!”
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