Join us today on Bloody Elbow for live results, discussion, round scoring, and play-by-play (main event) as UFC Vegas 61: Dern vs. Yan goes down in Sin City.
The headliner comes in the women’s strawweight division, with contenders Mackenzie Dern and Yan Xiaonan throwing down in a five-rounder. The co-main will take place in the welterweight division, and will see the ageless Francisco Trinaldo taking on Randy Brown.
This card wiil be fully airing on ESPN+. The six-fight preliminary card is scheduled to start at 4:00pm ET/1:00pm PT. The six-fight main card is scheduled to kick off at 7:00pm ET/4:00pm PT and will stay on ESPN+. You can also catch the prelims on Fight Pass outside of the US.
Main Card
Mackenzie Dern vs. Xiaonan Yan
Round 1 – Side kick from Yan right away. Dern with a right. Yan feinting a lot. Dern winging shots. Nice combo from Yan but Dern fires right back. Another oblique kick from Yan. 1-2 from Yan. Yan keeps spamming the oblique kick. Dern ducks under and looks hard for a takedown. She almost turns the corner but Yan defends. Short shots from Yan. They reset. Yan with some short inside leg kicks. Yan looks for a takedown now. Dern tries to pull guard to no effect. Dern with a combo. She clinches and looks for a head-and-arm throw. Yan ends up on top, then they get up right away. 10-9 Yan.
Round 2 – Dern sticks a jab. Yan with a right an an inside leg kick. Dern pulls guard, and looks for a leg lock. Yan defends and lands a couple of shots from the top. Dern is dogged with the sub attempts. She needs to secure the other leg though. She is in an awkward position trying to transition. Omoplata attempt. Derns spins to the top. Dern is wrenching on the arm. Straight to an arm triangle. Dern is slowly adjusting. Yan defends but it allows Dern to get better position. Mount. Punches. Gave up her back. Dern has 1:15 left. Punches. Lots of them. Dern pops an arm. Then transitioning to a top-side triangle. Yan is surviving. 10-9 Dern.
Round 3 – Yan with an inside leg kick. Front kick. Dern backs her up with punches. Yan responds. Knee from Yan and Dern pulls guard. Rubber guard. Yan backs out and gets it back to the feet. They trade low kicks. Hard kick from Dern to the body. Another. Dern shoots in but there’s nothing there. Dern’s getting a bit sloppy. Front kick from Yan. Again. Leg kick from Dern. Yan with a big shot that may have stunned Dern. Inside leg kick. Another right from Yan. Dern catches a kick but can’t take her opponent down. Dern swings and misses. Yan with a nice right. Dern kicks the body. They trade low kicks. Dern with a very late takedown, but not enough. 10-9 Yan.
Round 4 – Fast start. Both lands kicks. Nice left from Dern. A right as well and she looks for a takedown. She traps a leg but excellent defense from Yan. She stays upright. Dern with a kick but she gets popped with a right. Dern ties her up against the cage after evading an elbow. Dern falls back and rolls but nothing there. Back up. Jabs from Yan. Yan with two good counters. Jab. Dern wades in with a combo. Inside leg kick from Yan. Dern looks for a throw but Yan stays heavy. She’s in Dern’s full guard. Yan’s in real close to keep Dern from looking for offense. Dern is hunting for an armbar but outta time. 10-9 Yan.
Round 5 – They trade right away. Yan lands a hard right. Dern is very aggressive. She’s looking hard for a throw takedown. She actually got it. Dern’s in a weird side control. Dangerous territory for Yan. Mount. Short punches to loosen up an arm. More punches. Yan is trying to escape out back, but it’s Mackenzie Dern. Yan cleared a hook for about two seconds. She’s up high though. She expertly slides her hips back to get better control. Yan scoots her forward again though. Fascinating ground work from both fighters. Dern starts punching again, but she’s running out of time. Dern can’t flatten Yan out. It’s hail mary time, it seems. She’s looking for an armbar, now an Americana. She secures an arm but Yan slips out! WOW! 10-8 Dern and 47-47 on my card.
Xiaonan Yan defeated Mackenzie Dern via majority decision (48-47, 48-47, 47-47)
Randy Brown defeated Francisco Trinaldo via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Raoni Barcelos defeated Trevin Jones via unanimous decision (30-25, 30-27, 30-27)
Sodiq Yusuff defeated Don Shainis via submission (guillotine choke), :30 of round 1
Mike Davis defeated Viacheslav Borshchev via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-26, 30-26)
Preliminary Card
Daniel Santos defeated John Castaneda via KO (knee and punches), 4:28 of round 2
Ilir Latifi defeated Aleksei Oleinik via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Joaquim Silva defeated Jesse Ronson via TKO (strikes), 3:08 of round 2
Brendan Allen defeated Krzysztof Jotko via submission (rear naked choke), 4:17 of round 1
Chelsea Chandler defeated Julija Stoliarenko via TKO (strikes), 4:15 of round 1
Guido Cannetti defeated Randy Costa via submission (rear naked choke), 1:04 of round 1
