Yan Xiaonan appears to be choked UNCONSCIOUS at the end of first round of title fight, but somehow regains her senses and fights on to lose decision to Zhang Weili at UFC 300

Zhang Weili twice came within seconds of finishing Yan Xiaonan as she produced a dominant performance to retain her women’s strawweight title at UFC 300.

Saturday’s co-main event marked the first time two Chinese fighters had competed for a title in promotional history and the pair produced a showdown packed with drama at the T-Mobile Arena. 

Just minutes after Max Holloway’s last-second KO of Justin Gaethje, Zhang looked to have secured a buzzer-beater of her own as she cinched in a rear-naked choke in the final seconds of round one.

Yan appeared close to submitting but held firm and was rescued by the end of the round, though there was some confusion as to whether the challenger had actually been briefly rendered unconscious.

After recovering between rounds Yan immediately found herself forced onto the back foot in the second.

Zhang looked to have secured a first-round submission win but Yan was able to survive until the end of the round 

The 34-year-old again looked to have secured a finish in the following frame but Yan recovered to reach the end of the fight

An exhausted Zhang was forced to rely on her grappling throughout but was able to see out the fight and defend her title

Referee Jason Herzog looked primed to intervene after Zhang secured a dominant position and began raining down strikes but Yan was able to eventually reverse the position and again survive until the end of the round.

Having twice came within seconds of finishing the fight Zhang appeared severely fatigued in the third, allowing the pendulum to swing back in her opponent’s favour.

Zhang reassured her control of the third in the penultimate round however, again taking the challenger’s back and looking to secure a submission but was denied once more.

Yan’s grappling deficiencies were laid bare in the closing stages, as the champion again managed to secure a dominant position and threaten submissions en-route to a decision win.