Yan Xiaonan vs. Denise Gomes
UFC Fight Night · August 29, 2026 · SPD Bank Oriental Sports Center · Main Card 6:00 AM ET
The brief
- What kind of fight
- Volume Veteran vs. Power Prospect
- Finish likelihood
- Medium
- The line
- No line posted yet
- The stakes
- Women's Strawweight · Main Card
The read
Yan's pace and cage IQ should be enough to keep Gomes on the back foot for large stretches of this fight.
She has traded rounds with Zhang Weili and Virna Jandiroba and rarely gets hurt badly even in defeat, a good sign against a much less experienced opponent. Gomes's power is real, though, and her four-fight win streak includes a stoppage of a durable veteran in Elise Reed, so a mistake from the 37-year-old Yan against 115 pounds of committed punching is a live danger.
Expect Yan to win a competitive decision behind volume, with a Gomes knockout the fight's most dangerous alternate path.
The matchup
Yan Xiaonan brings championship-level volume and an 18-fight UFC resume against a hard-punching upstart with far less experience against elite competition.
Yan throws nearly five significant strikes per minute behind constant forward pressure and has gone the distance with three former or current champions. Gomes counters with real one-punch power — seven of her twelve wins are knockouts — but she has never faced a striker as durable or as high-volume as Yan, whose strike defense sits at 60 percent.
The fight is essentially a step-up test for Gomes: can her power close the gap before Yan's pace and experience take over the championship rounds.
Tale of the tape
| 19-5-0 | Record | 12-3-0 |
| 37 | Age | 26 |
| 5'5" | Height | 5'2" |
| 63" | Reach | 63" |
| Orthodox | Stance | Orthodox |
| China | Country | Brazil |
| Team Alpha Male | Team | Paraná Vale Tudo |
The numbers
Career UFC averages. Red bar = statistical edge.
The fighters
Yan Xiaonan 19-5-0
“Fury”
The first Chinese fighter signed by the UFC, Yan Xiaonan is a volume kickboxer who wins with pace and combinations rather than single-shot power. She challenged Zhang Weili for the strawweight title at UFC 300 and later dropped a decision to Virna Jandiroba at UFC 314. Her record also includes one no contest, and she returns to competition in her home country against surging contender Denise Gomes after a 16-month layoff.
- LVirna Jandiroba · Decision (unanimous)UFC 314 · April 12, 2025
- WTabatha Ricci · Decision (unanimous)UFC Fight Night: Yan vs. Figueiredo · November 23, 2024
- LZhang Weili · Decision (unanimous)UFC 300 · April 13, 2024
Denise Gomes 12-3-0
“Dee”
One of the strawweight division's youngest risers, the 26-year-old Brazilian carries seven knockout wins and heavy hands into her biggest test yet. She fights aggressively from the opening bell, though her defense still lags behind her offense. Riding a four-fight win streak that includes stoppages of Elise Reed and Karolina Kowalkiewicz, she is booked against former title challenger Yan Xiaonan in the co-main event.
- WTecia Pennington · Decision (unanimous)UFC Fight Night: Bonfim vs. Brown · November 8, 2025
- WElise Reed · TKO (punches)UFC Fight Night: Burns vs. Morales · May 17, 2025
- WKarolina Kowalkiewicz · Decision (unanimous)UFC Fight Night: Magny vs. Prates · November 9, 2024