Xiaonan Yan excited following UFC Vegas 61 win over Mackenzie Dern: “I worked so hard hoping this day would come back to me”

Xiaonan Yan hit rock bottom after losing two bouts in a row, but her misfortunate recently turned around.

Yan went toe-to-toe with Mackenzie Dern in the main event of UFC Vegas 61 this past weekend. The bout went the distance and in the end, it was Yan who took the majority decision victory.

During her interview on the UFC Vegas 61 post-fight show on ESPN+, Yan discussed going through hardships before finally getting back in the win column (via MMAJunkie).

“I cannot be happier right now,” Yan said on the ESPN+ post-fight show. “I lost my last two fights, so a year long I didn’t feel happy. I was pretty low in the previous year. I worked so hard hoping this day would come back to me.”

Yan feels her decision to keep training in the United States paid off.

“… I feel very happy that I made the right choice to stay in the U.S. and keep training at Team Alpha Male. The whole team helped me a lot. Mackenzie’s jiu-jitsu is definitely another level. I felt it during the fight. She’s very dangerous. There were a lot of times during the fight it was very dangerous. But I survived through that and I made it.”

As far as what the future has in store, Yan remains hopeful that she can one day capture UFC gold.

“My ultimate goal in the UFC is the belt,” Yan said. “Now I have fought the best wrestler in this division, the best striker in this division, the best jiu-jitsu fighter in this division. So no matter who the UFC gives me, I don’t fear. Just, let’s fight.”