Strawweight contender Claudia Gadelha (18-4, 2 KOs, 7 SUBs) will meet Chinese prospect Xiaonan Yan (12-1, 5 KOs) at UFC Fight Night: Santos vs. Teixeira on Saturday, November 7, 2020 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada. The card airs live on ESPN starting 5pm ET. In the main event, light heavyweight contenders Thiago Santos (21-7, 15 KOs, 1 SUB) and Glover Teixeira (31-7, 18 KOs, 8 SUBs) will meet for the chance to face Jan Blachowicz for the title. Let’s take a closer look at the UFC odds for Gadelha vs. Yan, break down the fight and get to your best online betting picks.
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Claudia Gadelha (18-4, 2 KOs, 7 SUBs)
Ever since making her UFC debut in 2014, Gadelha has been a staple in the top tier of the strawweight division. For a few years, she was the clear No. 1 contender behind Joanna Champion - but her status has taken a hit recently. She’s just 3-2 in her past five, including a loss where she was ragdolled by Jessica Andrade. Though she’s beaten good competition in Carla Esparza, Randa Markos and Angela Hill, the Brazilian barely squeaked by against opponents that are a level below the true contenders.
Still, Gadelha’s name carries weight at 115 pounds. Nobody can deny her physical gifts: she is an excellent athlete with natural power. Her punches have snap, and she can drive opponents into the mat with authority. Before MMA, the 31-year old was piling up awards in BJJ tournaments, and is still an extremely lethal submission artist inside the cage. Now training with Lutrell-Yee and Jackson-Wink, Gadelha’s striking has improved by leaps and bounds as well.
On paper, Claudinha should be a perennial title contender. But a lack of cardio has been a glaring Achilles heel, as she can never finish as strong as she starts. Unfortunately, this looks like an issue that will plague her into retirement.
Xiaonan Yan (12-1, 5 KOs)
After going undefeated overseas in Road Fighting Championships, Yan has remained flawless in five fights inside the octagon. Her last two fights were particularly impressive, as the 31-year old leveled up her competition and went toe-to-toe with the fast, athletic Angela Hill to win a convincing decision. In her most recent fight, Yan completely outclassed a respected vet in Karolina Kowalkiewicz - proving far too quick and powerful for the former title contender.
It’s hard not to compare Yan with her countrywoman, champion Weili Zhang. They are both aggressive fighters that hit hard - though Yan doesn’t have the same type of power as Zhang. The tradeoff here is that Yan is a very big strawweight at 5’5”, both tall and filled out for the division. Yan will enter with a two-inch height advantage, which should play a factor in the clash. The question is how she will react if Gadelha is able to take this to the mat, where the Chinese native is largely untested.
Significant Striking Stats
Strikes landed per minute: Gadelha 3.40 / Yan 6.72
Striking accuracy: Gadelha 41% / Yan 42%
Strikes absorbed per minute: Gadelha 4.53 / Yan 3.88
Striking defense: Gadelha 57% / Yan 63%
Grappling Stats
Takedowns per 15 minutes: Gadelha 3.13 / Yan 1.2
Takedown accuracy: Gadelha 45% / Yan 75%
Takedown defense: Gadelha 58% / Yan 70%
Submissions per 15 minutes: Gadelha 0.7 / Yan 0.0
UFC Picks
This is a dangerous matchup for Yan, as Gadelha has the skills to snatch up a quick submission. But at the end of the day, we’re siding with Yan’s ability to go really hard for three rounds, along with the strength to avoid getting taken down. The first round will be close, but we expect Yan to pull away with a decision win.
UFC Fight Night: Santos vs. Teixeira Card & Odds
Light Heavyweight - Glover Teixeira +191 vs. Thiago Santos -235
Middleweight - Ian Heinsich -112 vs. Brendan Allen -112
Women’s Strawweight - Claudia Gadelha +113 vs. Yan Xiaonan -137
Heavyweight - Andrei Arlovski +232 vs. Tanner Boser -289
Featherweight - Jeremy Stephens +154 vs. Arnold Allen -186
Middleweight - Trevin Giles -107 vs. Bevon Lewis -117
Welterweight - Ramiz Rahimaj +115 vs. Max Griffin -139
Featherweight - Eduardo Garagorri +200 vs. Darren Elkins -245
Heavyweight - Marcos Rogerio de Lima +303 vs. Alexander Romanov -390
Bantamweight - Khalid Taha +277 vs. Raoni Barcelos -352
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