Zhang Weili and Yan Xiaonan will compete in the first ever all-Chinese UFC title fight in April this year, announced the Ultimate Fighting Championship on Thursday.

Defending champion Zhang, 33, will take on Yan, 34, in Las Vegas on April 14 in a UFC 300 fight. Zhang became the first Chinese UFC champion when she beat Jessica Andrade of Brazil in just 42 seconds in September 2019, while Yan was the first Chinese fighter to sign with UFC in 2017.

The past year was fruitful for both of them. Zhang had her first defense of her second title reign as the co-main event of UFC 292 in Boston on August 19 last year, in which she retained the belt against Brazilian Amanda Lemos with a clear unanimous decision. As for Yan, she came off a first-round knockout against former champion Jessica Andrade at UFC 288 in May to move up to second in the women's strawweight rankings.

Their fight joins four other fights that were already announced for the weekend of April 13-14 at the T-Mobile Arena, including Charles Oliveira vs Arman Tsarukyan and Aljamain Sterling vs Calvin Kattar.

(With input from Xinhua)

(Cover: Zhang Weili beats Amanda Lemos of Brazil in the UFC strawweight championship fight during the UFC 292 event in Boston, U.S., August 19, 2023. /CFP)