Yan Xiaonan will need a new opponent if she still wants to fight at UFC 253 on September 26th. Claudia Gadelha has withdrawn from their strawweight bout with a knee injury leaving the Chinese fighter’s participation in doubt.

Xiaonan (12-1-0-1) is #10 in the rankings and has not lost a fight since 2010. Gadalha (18-4) is ranked #6 and the UFC will be scrambling to find a similar calibre replacement.

One Chinese fighter who is definitely going to be competing on the UFC 253 card is Heili Alateng. He has been matched with Casey Kenney in a bantamweight bout.

Alateng (14-7-1) has won two fights out of two for the promotion. He scored decision wins at UFC Shenzhen and UFC Busan but faces a tough test this month.

Kenney (14-2-1) is a former Legacy Fighting Alliance 135lbs champion. He has won three fights out of four for the UFC but is not currently ranked.

UFC 253 does not currently have a venue confirmed although the event is expected to take place in Abu Dhabi. In the main event Israel Adesanya is set to defend his middleweight title against Paulo Costa.

UFC 253, TBA, September 26th
Israel Adesanya (c) vs. Paulo Costa (Middleweight)
Dominick Reyes vs. Jan Blachowicz (Light Heavyweight)
Hakeem Dawodu vs. Zubaira Tukhugo (Featherweight)
Kai Kara-France vs. Brandon Rovyal (Flyweight)
Diego Sanchez vs. Jake Matthews (Welterweight)
Brad Riddell vs. Alex Da Silva (Lightweight)
Shane Young vs. Nate Landwehr (Featherweight)
Casey Kenney vs. Heili Alateng (Bantamweight)
Jordan Espinosa vs. David Dvořák (Flyweight)
Yan Xiaonan vs. TBA (Strawweight)