MACAO, China, Nov. 23 (Xinhua) -- After a thrilling night of action in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, Russia's Petr Yan defeated Brazil's Deiveson Figueiredo in an exciting main event, while China's Yan Xiaonan put herself back into title contention with a confident performance.

Earlier on the main card, Chinese prospect Zhang Mingyang delivered a statement victory with a powerful elbow and ground-and-pound knockout, sending a strong message to the division.

Petr Yan won every round in a closely contested bout that showcased both his and Figueiredo's elite mixed martial arts skills.

In the first round, Figueiredo secured a takedown midway through and managed to take Yan's back. However, the Brazilian could not maintain the position, and Yan reversed it, falling into Figueiredo's guard and landing elbows and hammer fists to take the round.

In the second round, the fight began to open up on the feet. Both fighters landed significant strikes, with Yan securing the round after landing the cleaner shots and executing a slick judo sweep.

In the third round, Figueiredo began to fade, and Yan increased the pressure. The round ended with Yan catching Figueiredo late and rocking him to close out the third round.

While Figueiredo remained resilient, it was largely one-way traffic for Yan, whose superior Muay Thai skills made a difference in the stand-up exchanges. A glimmer of hope appeared for Figueiredo at the end of the fourth round when he knocked Yan down with a straight right.

At the start of the final round, both fighters took the center of the cage, visibly exhausted. Both Figueiredo and Yan landed punches more easily as their defenses weakened. Despite this, Yan remained on top, rocking Figueiredo throughout the round.

Following the fight, Yan called for a shot to regain his former bantamweight title.

In the co-main event, Yan Xiaonan returned to winning ways with a dominant unanimous decision victory against Brazil's Tabatha Ricci.

Yan took control of the octagon and maintained her position, keeping the circling Ricci at bay. The Chinese Sanda expert used her reach and power to prevent Ricci from closing the distance and making the fight a grappling contest.

Wary of the takedown attempts from the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt, Yan targeted Ricci's midsection with body punches and kicks, effectively deterring her from turning the fight into a ground battle. By the end of the second round, Yan had established a significant striking advantage, landing 46 strikes to Ricci's eight.

Despite showing more aggression in the third round, Ricci struggled to break through Yan's defenses, as Yan continued to land clean counters until the final horn.

Chinese light heavyweight prospect Zhang Mingyang secured an impressive first-round knockout against Ozzy Diaz. After a feeling-out process, Zhang found his range and landed a massive elbow that floored Diaz, before finishing him with ground-and-pound strikes.

In an upset, former Sanda world champion Wang Cong lost via rear-naked choke to underdog Gabriella Fernandes in the second round.

Wang looked comfortable in the first round and much of the second, using her superior striking to control the pace. However, as she tried to increase her offensive output, Wang was caught by a head kick from Fernandes, followed by a straight right that knocked her down. Moments later, Fernandes took Wang's back and secured the rear-naked choke for the submission win.

After the fight, Fernandes revealed that her sister had passed away in the lead-up to the fight, and she had almost withdrawn from the event.

Earlier in the prelims, the arena fell silent after Shi Ming knocked out Feng Xiaocan with a high roundhouse kick that landed on Feng's neck. Doctors were immediately called into the cage to assist the immobile Feng, who was placed in a neck brace and taken to the hospital. It was later revealed that Feng had avoided any major injuries.

Also on the main card, New Zealand's Carlos Ulberg earned a decision win in a high-quality kickboxing contest against Volkan Oezdemir. Enditem

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