Mark Jacobs 
Women’s strawweight Mackenzie Dern again showed she’s outstanding on the ground but needing improvement everywhere else in dropping a unanimous decision to Xiaonan Yan in Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 211 main event from Las Vegas. Yan thwarted most of Dern’s takedown attempts and used low sidekicks followed by stiff punches to control the first, third and fourth rounds.
Dern doggedly came forward seeking the takedown the whole time but failed on a number of single leg attempts. When she managed to drag Yan down to the mat in the second round she showcased her world championship grappling skills transitioning from an omoplata armlock to an arm triangle choke attempt to full mount to rear mount. But Yan was able to defend each position avoiding the submission.
Dern again got the fight to the ground early in the fifth off an awkward judo type throw and quickly achieved full mount then rear mount. But Yan intelligently moved toward the cage limiting Dern’s room to work from the top. Dern desperately went for an armlock in the closing seconds but Yan slipped out ending the fight on top in guard throwing punches. Yan’s record moves to 16-3 while Dern falls to 12-3.
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