Denise Gomes enters Shanghai looking for the biggest victory of her career, and she gets it in spectacular fashion.
Before Umar Nurmagomedov and Song Yadong settled their bantamweight business in the main event, Yan Xiaonan and Denise Gomes had a major opportunity to steal the spotlight in Shanghai on Saturday, August 29, 2026, at the Oriental Sports Center.
Yan returns to the Octagon after more than a year away from competition. She enters the matchup with a 19-5 professional record and looks to rebound from a difficult stretch against elite opposition.
Her most recent fight comes against Virna Jandiroba at UFC 314 in April 2025. Jandiroba uses her grappling to control the contest and earns a unanimous decision, handing Yan her second loss in three fights.
Before that loss, Yan gets back into the win column against Tabatha Ricci at UFC Fight Night in November 2024. She controls the three-round contest and takes a unanimous decision.
That victory comes after another major setback against Zhang Weili at UFC 300 in April 2024. Yan challenges for the UFC strawweight title but loses by unanimous decision after five rounds.
Yan therefore enters Shanghai looking to snap a losing streak and remind the division why she remains ranked among its top contenders.
Gomes enters with a 12-3 record .
The Brazilian has won four straight fights, and has won six of her last seven since dropping her UFC debut.
Her most recent victory comes against Tecia Pennington on November 8, 2025.
Gomes controls the three-round fight and earns a unanimous decision.
Before Pennington, Gomes produces a spectacular finish against Elise Reed on May 17, 2025. She stops Reed by second-round TKO at just 30 seconds, adding another knockout to her résumé.
Gomes also defeats Karolina Kowalkiewicz by unanimous decision in November 2024, following a split-decision victory over Eduarda Moura in June 2024.
Yan Xiaonan starts the fight aggressively, taking the center of the Octagon and looking to establish her boxing early. She lands a right hand before mixing in leg kicks and side kicks to keep Gomes at range.
Gomes refuses to back away. The Brazilian presses forward and fires a heavy right hand that catches Yan, Yan absorbs the shot and immediately fires back with a combination.
With roughly two minutes remaining, Yan continues finding success with her hands and keeps Gomes under pressure. Gomes, however, stays composed and continues looking for an opening.
Then the fight suddenly changes.
Gomes steps forward and lands a devastating elbow over the top, catching Yan cleanly and dropping her to her knees. Gomes immediately swarms, following the elbow with a barrage of left and right hands as Yan struggles to recover. The referee steps in at 4:49 of the first round, giving Gomes the TKO victory.
The win gives Gomes her fifth consecutive victory and moves her to 13-3 overall and 7-2 in the UFC. The victory also strengthens her position in the women’s strawweight title picture for Yan, the defeat marks another difficult setback after her previous loss to Virna Jandiroba. She gets some early success against Gomes, but the Brazilian needs only one opening to completely turn the fight around.
Another interesting fight on the card is Aoriqileng vs. Kai Asakura, and it delivers exactly the kind of action fight fans expect. Asakura takes control of the striking exchanges early before finding the perfect opening in the second round. Just 34 seconds into Round 2, the Japanese fighter lands a devastating head kick that drops Aoriqileng. Asakura immediately follows up with a barrage of punches, forcing the referee to stop the fight and handing him a second-round TKO victory. The win gives Asakura another impressive finish as he continues to build momentum in the UFC, while Aoriqileng sees his night end abruptly in front of the Shanghai crowd.
Check out UFC Shanghai results below
Main Card
ong Yadong def. Umar Nurmagomedov via KO (right uppercut) (R2, 1:48).
Denise Gomes def. Yan Xiaonan via TKO (strikes) (R1, 4:49)
Kai Asakura def. Aoriqileng via TKO (strikes) (R2, 0:34)
Sumudaerji def. Alex Perez via unanimous decision (29-28 x3)
Liu Ce def. Levi Rodrigues Jr. via KO (right hook) (R1, 4:26)
Bilal Hasan def. Nilson Rojas via KO (punch) (R2, 2:28)
Preliminary Card
Andre Lima def. Namsrai Batbayar via submission (guillotine choke) (R3, 3:03)
Rei Tsuruya def. Kevin Borjas via submission (rear-naked choke) (R1, 4:14)
Sean Woodson def. Jack Jenkins via split decision (29-28 x2, 28-29)
Francesco Nuzzi def. Xiao Long via TKO (strikes) (R1, 1:00)
Hector Santiago def. Lawrence Lui via KO (punches) (R2, 0:53)
Julia Polastri def. Xiong Jingnan via KO (head kick) (R1, 3:06)
Cam Nelson def. Ding Meng via unanimous decision (29-28 x3)
