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Yan Xiaonan was unable to capture the women's strawweight title when she faced Zhang Weili in the co-main event of UFC 300, losing the bout via unanimous decision. The fight was not without controversy as 'Fury Nine' appeared to be choked unconscious at the end of the first round, with her corner seemingly providing her with what many speculated was smelling salts.
The No.2-ranked women's strawweight denied the allegations during a recent appearance on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani, stating, via a translator:
"So, to be honest, I didn't notice what the cutman was doing between the rounds because when I went back to my corner, I was still recovering from the choke so the only thing I can say is you're right and then he stood in front of me and they were talking. I cannot absorb anything they said so actually I didn't notice what the cutman was doing, but yeah."
She added:
"The smelling salts thing, it makes no sense. Nobody put those to let me smell that. No, nobody used those things to wake me up. No, it makes no sense. Just like all my previous fights, you guys know, it was not allowed to be used."
Check out Yan Xiaonan's comments on the smelling salts allegations below:
Xiaonan added that she didn't feel much different after what her corner her did to help her recover. She noted that what woke her up was when they applied water and ice that they poured over her head, but the pressure under her nose didn't do much for her.
The No.2-ranked women's strawweight did, however, acknowledge that the cutman knew what he was doing.
Yan Xiaonan denies being choked unconscious by Zhang Weili
While Yan Xiaonan appeared to be choked unconscious at the end of the first round of her UFC 300 women's strawweight title fight against Zhang Weili, she claimed that was not the case. Speaking to Ariel Helwani of The MMA Hour, via a translator, the No.2-ranked women's strawweight stated:
"I was facing the roof of the arena and then I could see the clock on the big screen so when I saw that there were about ten seconds left, I thought I could go through this round, but at the last second when they ring bell, I was almost out just like somebody almost knocked me out, but I still recognized that I need to stand up immediately and try my best to walk to my corner to show that the fight is still able to continue."
Check out Yan Xiaonan's full comments on not being unconscious below:
While the fight was allowed to continue, many viewers questioned if Xiaonan was unconscious after she appeared to go limp from the rear-naked choke. Despite having some strong moments later in the fight, she went on to lose the fight via unanimous decision after a dominant performance from Weili.
