YAN XIAONAN KNOCKS OUT JESSICA ANDRADE IN THE FIRST ROUND
BOOOOM! Thank you, Yan Xiaonan, for waking this crowd up with a finish!
UFC 288's PPV main card got off to a weird start with Kron Gracie butt-scooting his way to an extremely boring loss to Charles Jourdain, but the next couple fights were AWESOME.
First, short-notice newcomer Diego Lopes took on Movsar Evloev (who came into the fight -1000 favorite) and brought him to his limit, wobbling Evloev in the first and almost submitting him multiple times afterwards.
Evloev won via decision, but Dana White was THRILLED with Lopes' performance, and he basically got as close to a moral victory as you could get in your debut.
Then, Yan Xiaonan went in there and put on a FLAWLESS showing against former champ Jessica Andrade, possibly earning herself a title shot in the process! She was snapping kicks like whips and planted down perfectly on that right hand to set up the finish. It's all the more impressive that she was running backwards, Stipe/Werdum style, too!
P.S. We got a couple celebs in the house tonight….
When the camera cut to Sydney Sweeney, she blew a kiss (duh) - and then it cut right to Don Fyre who did the same.
Hilarious. What a legend.