Yan Xiaonan pushed closer to title contention tonight at UFC 288 with an impressive 1st round KO victory over Jessica Andrade.
Round One:
Xiaonan fires off a straight that comes up just short and Andrade thinks about a jumping knee then decides against it.
Xiaonan working those straight punches and a kick. She lands a punch nicely and that gets Andrade’s attention, who tries to get it back with wide hooks that don’t find the mark.
Xiaonan looking crisp early here with her strikes. Andrade gets into range and starts hurling hooks though and does get the better of that exchange for a few moments.
Xiaonan back to working from range with clean strikes. Andrade wades in throwing her wide hooks again with her chin in the air and Xiaonan greets her with a counter right that floors the former champ!
Xiaonan follows her to the mat while landing a hammer-fist and starts to work ground-and-pound as the ref rushes in, and that’s it, Xiaonan earns a huge KO victory at 2.20mins of the first round.
It goes down as a knockout finish, but Andrade wasn’t out and so it felt more like a TKO. Nevertheless, that’s the kind of highlight-reel win that could help Xiaonan move into the title picture at 115lbs, while for Andrade that’s now two disappointing losses in a row.
