By:  | April 14, 2024 12:13 pm

Weili Zhang secured one of the most unusual wins in MMA history at UFC 300. The strawweight champion choked Yan Xiaonan unconscious with a rear naked choke but the first round ended before the referee had noticed.

As a result Xiaonan was given a chance to regain consciousness and recover. She didn’t fare much better in the second round as Zhang took her down again and landed punch after punch to the side of her head.

The referee could have stopped it at this stage but he gave Xiaonan every opportunity to recover and eventually she did, escaping and getting to her feet at the end of the round. The challenger even landed a left hand on the bell.

It appeared that Zhang might have punched herself out in the third round. She was knocked down early in the round and swept off her feet towards the end as Xiaonan caught a side kick and unbalanced her.

Decision win

During the break between rounds Zhang’s corner told her to stop throwing kicks. She didn’t listen and was knocked down by a right hand while attempting a low kick at the start of the fourth.

Zhang was able to take Xiaonan down and take her back, landing more punches to the face and head before transitioning to mount. It gave her a big lead and she consolidated it in the fifth with another early takedown.

She kept Xiaonan down until the end of the round to take a clear decision win. All three judges scored the fight for Zhang who retains her title and improves to 25-3 while her opponent drops to 17-4.

Late finish

Earlier in the evening Max Holloway (26-7) scored a dramatic late finish against Justin Gaethje (25-5) in their featherweight fight. The Hawaiian was on course for a decision win but decided to stand and trade in the final seconds.

It seemed an unnecessary risk but it paid off handsomely for Holloway. He landed a right hand that knocked Gaethje out with the finish officially record as being at 4:59.

Main event

Coming soon…

Alex Pereira (c) vs. Jamahal Hill
Zhang Weili def. Yan Xiaonan via Decision (Unanimous)
Max Holloway def. Justin Gaethje via KO (Punch) at 4:59 of R5
Arman Tsarukyan def. Charles Oliveira via Decision (Split)
Bo Nickal def. Cody Brundage via Submission (Rear-naked choke) at 3:38 of R2
Jiří Procházka def. Aleksandar Rakić via TKO (Punches) at 3:17 of R2
Aljamain Sterling def. Calvin Kattar via Decision (Unanimous)
Kayla Harrison def. Holly Holm via Submission (Rear-naked choke) at 1:47 of R2
Diego Lopes def. Sodiq Yusuff via TKO (Punches) at 1:29 of R1
Renato Moicano def. Jalin Turner via TKO (Punches) at 4:11 of R2
Jéssica Andrade def. Marina Rodriguez via Decision (Split)
Bobby Green def. Jim Miller via Decision (Unanimous)
Deiveson Figueiredo def. Cody Garbrandt via Submission (Rear-naked choke) at 4:02 of R2