Update: Cláudia Gadelha vs. Yan Xiaonan rescheduling targeted for UFC event on November 7th.

Despite her recent MCL injury, one-time UFC strawweight title challenger, Cláudia Gadelha is still in line to meet with surging contender, Yan Xiaonan – later this year. The Brazilian was recently forced to withdraw from a September 26th. pairing with Xiaonan at UFC 253 – with the promotion now keen on reworking the pairing for a Fight Night event on November 7th. A location or venue for the card is yet to be determined by the promotion.

Following her injury earlier this week, Gadelha travelled from her New Jersey residence to the UFC Performance Institute in Las Vegas, Nevada – for further assessment and diagnosing of the extent of the setback which she suffered in preparation for the September date. With no surgical procedure required, Gadelha is currently rehabbing her left knee.

Hoping to score her second win of the year and third straight, the Brazilian featured at a UFC Fight Night event in Jacksonville in May, scoring a close decision win over former Invicta FC champion, Angela Hill.

For Shenyang native, Xiaonan a November date will also offer her the chance to improve to 2-0 this annum, following a February unanimous decision win over former title challenger, Karolina Kowalkiewicz, at UFC Fight Night Auckland in New Zealand. News of the reworked matching was first reported by Combate reporter, Raphael Marinho.

Attempting to continue her second siege to a strawweight title opportunity and knock back a significant division threat in the process, Rio Grande do Notre native, Gadelha has prior challenged for 115-pound gold, dropping a unanimous decision to former division best, Joanna Jędrzejczyk in a rematch following a close first affair.

Xiaonan, who currently sits at #10 in the official strawweight stack, has won all five of her Octagon appearances since her Shanghai debut back in November 2017. Finding themselves on the 31-year-old’s win column so far, Kailin Curran, Viviane Pereira, Syuri Kondo, as well as common opponents, Hill and Kowalkiewicz.

Ross Markey

Senior writer for FightBook MMA. An aspiring mixed martial arts reporter based in Ireland. Producer of news articles, interviews, opinion features, and exclusive features such as, ‘The Fallout’, ‘The Breakdown, and, ‘This Week In MMA’.