Yan Xiaonan expects to earn title shot with win over Carla Esparza at UFC Fight Night 188

Yan Xiaonan is looking to emerge as the next title challenger when she squares off against a former champion.

Xiaonan (13-1 MMA, 6-0 UFC) meets inaugural strawweight champ Carla Esparza in the co-main event of UFC Fight Night 188 on May 22 in what she expects to be a No. 1 contender bout.

“Yeah, I think so,” Xiaonan said through an interpreter. “Very huge fight for me and very important. I prepared for this fight for a very long time, and I think the winner of me and Esparza will be able to challenge for the belt. That’s my plan. I win this fight and my next step will be to challenge for the championship.”

Unbeaten in the UFC, Xiaonan is coming off back-to-back wins over former title challengers Karolina Kowalkiewicz and Claudia Gadelha. She’s looking to add another big name to her resume when she meets perennial contender Esparza (17-6 MMA, 8-4 UFC), whom she sees as a stepping stone en route to a title shot.

“I think her role is pretty much like a gatekeeper,” Xiaonan said. “She was the first champion of this division and her ranking is always (No.) 5 to 8, so yeah, she’s like a gatekeeper. If we can get through her, we can become a legit championship challenger.”

Xiaonan sees the fight with Esparza as a typical striker vs. grappler matchup. Esparza holds the record for the most takedowns landed in UFC strawweight history and Xiaonan doubts she’ll want to stand with her.

“That’s what we’re guessing her strategy will be,” Xiaonan said. “Everybody who fought me wanted to wrestle with me, grapple with me, because they know there’s no chance they’ll beat me through striking. So yeah, we think she’ll implement her wrestling game.

“For the result of the fight, 200 percent I will win. Takedown defense is the key for me. But if there’s an opportunity, I want to try and take her down and submit her and give everybody a surprise.”

With China’s first UFC champion Zhang Weili losing her title to Rose Namajunas at UFC 261, many are touting Xiaonan as their next hope. But the surging contender is happy to see people recognize her work and is ready to take on that responsibility.

“I don’t see it as pressure. I see it as motivation,” Xiaonan said. “There are a lot of Chinese MMA fans commenting under my social media saying, ‘Hey, we hope you can beat Rose to bring the belt back to China.’ I’m really happy with that because I realized that more and more people don’t only know Zhang Weili, but they also know Yan Xiaonan and they know I can be China’s next champion.”