The next UFC event on the schedule is taking place at UFC Apex in Vegas on Saturday, October 1. The event in question is dubbed UFC Fight Night: Dern vs Yan (a.k.a. UFC Fight Night 211 or UFC Vegas 61 or UFC on ESPN+ 69) with its headliner bout being a Women’s Strawweight duel between Mackenzie Dern and Yan Xiaonan.
Dern is a Phoenix-born American fighter currently living in Los Angeles, who’s bound to have the crowd on her side on October 1. Is that going to help her beat her Chinese rival? To learn our opinion on the subject, make sure to read our Dern vs Yan preview until the end!
Mackenzie Dern vs Yan Xiaonan Odds
| Mackenzie Dern | -210 |
| Yan Xiaonan | +176 |
*Odds taken from FanDuel on Friday, September 23.
When, Where, and How to Watch?
- Place: UFC APEX In Las Vegas, Nevada
- Date: Saturday, October 1
- How to Watch: ESPN+/UFC Fight Pass
Mackenzie Dern Favored by the Bookies
Mackenzie Dern is 12-2 in her professional MMA career, with a 7-2 record since becoming a part of the UFC world. She joined this promotion in 2018, while before that, she fought in tournaments organized by Legacy Fighting Alliance/Legacy FC for about two years.
Before becoming a pro MMA fighter in 2016, Dern had a successful career in submission grappling. In fact, she’s won s number of gold medals in Brazilian jiu-jitsu competitions around the world, representing both the United States and Brazil on the international stage.
Knowing that she’s got an extensive background in BJJ, it’s no surprise that most of her MMA wins happened via submission. In fact, she’s won 7 fights this way, while her other five wins happened by decision. What’s interesting is that she’s still without a win by knockout, which is her next opponent’s favorite method of victory.
Yan Xiaonan Going for a Knockout at UFC Fight Night 211
Yan Xiaonan is 15-3-1 in her career as a professional mixed martial artist. She’s got seven wins by KO/TKO, along with eight wins by decision, and is without a single win by submission.
What’s interesting is that since moving to the UFC in 2017, she’s 6-2 with all of her wins happening via decision. One of her two UFC losses happened by that method, while the other saw her lose by technical knockout in Round 2.
Knowing this, it’s clear that she’s got the stamina to fight all five rounds. However, we doubt that that’s going to be her strategy at UFC Fight Night 211. Her opponent also has great cardio, which is why we think Yan will try to deal with her earlier. We think Yan will go for a knockout.
Throwing punches and kicks toward Dern seems to be the best (and only) way to prevent her from taking Yan to the ground.
Dern vs Yan Prediction
If she wants to win, Yan Xiaonan needs to make sure Mackenzie Dern doesn’t take her down to the ground. Dern will surely try that, which is why we expect Yan to try to prevent it with hard strikes. And if she hits her hard enough, we could see her win by KO/TKO.
Picks: Yan Xiaonan to win by knockout/technical knockout