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Main Event: Yan victorious in her first main event
Strawweight contenders No. 5 ranked Dern and No. 6 ranked Yan entered the Octagon with high stakes in the title contention picture.
It was grappler versus striker as Dern went for constant takedowns and Yan used her powerful punches and kicks; the momentum surging back and forth for each.
Dern controlled Yan on the ground and worked her creative and dangerous transitions, while Yan had a knockdown in the third and damaging blows throughout.
In the final round, Dern was ferocious on the takedown, ground and pound, and went for a last minute armbar attempt that Yan escaped with just 10 seconds left.
After Yan took the majority decision victory, she said, "I know her jiu jitsu is amazing - she's a black belt, I'm a white belt. I trained so hard in grappling during this camp. And now, I could do this!
"I didn't train a lot on striking because if it's standing up, I know I can win no matter what. I didn't get an Octagon interview in my last two fights, because I lost, so I just want to say thank you to everyone for supporting me here and back home."
Co-main Event: Brown outworks Trinaldo
It was a battle of attrition between Randy Brown and Francisco Trinaldo in the co-main event, with "Rude Boy" doing enough over the opening two frames to secure the unanimous decision victory.
The 32-year-old Brown has now earned four straight victories in the talent-rich welterweight ranks, putting himself in a position for a step up in competition next time out.
After claiming the points on the judges scorecard, Brown said, "That was a test, but I don't think that was my best work. He was a true veteran and it was an absolute honor. I definitely felt his experience in there."
Other Main Card Action: Yusuff the highlight
Sodiq Yusuff got the second-fastest submission in UFC featherweight history with a 30 second guillotine choke of Don Shainis, and then he called out the owner of the first Twister in the Octagon, Korean Zombie.
Plus, Raoni Barcelos earned a decision win over Trevin Jones in a bantamweight bout and, Mike Davis outworked Viacheslav Borshchev in a lightweight bout that opened the main card.
Preliminary Card Action: Five of six stoppages
The fight of the night was a huge comeback win for Daniel "Willycat" Santos after he got rocked multiple times in the opening round of his bantamweight clash with John Castaneda.
Each time Castaneda landed, Santos took it and continued marching forward, offering heavy shots of his own in response. Late in the second round, Santos hurt Castaneda, and when he saw the opportunity to finish, he pounced.
While Ilir Latifi's victory over Aleksei Oleinik at heavyweight was the lone decision win on the preliminary card, four other fighters - Joaquim Silva, Brendan Allen, Guido Cannetti and Chelsea Chandler all claimed stoppage wins.
UFC Vegas 61 Final Results
Main Card
1. Women's Strawweight Bout: Yan Xiaonan defeated Mackenzie Dern by majority decision (48-47, 48-47, 47-47)
2. Welterweight Bout: Randy Brown defeated Francisco Trinaldo by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
3. Bantamweight Bout: Raoni Barcelos defeated Trevin Jones by unanimous decision (30-25, 30-27, 30-27)
4. Featherweight But: Sodiq Yusuff defeated Don Shainis by submission (guillotine choke) at 0:30 of Round 1
5. Lightweight Bout: Mike Davis defeated Viacheslav Borshchev by unanimous decision (29-28, 30-26, 30-26)
Preliminary Card
1. Catchweight (140 lb) Bout: Daniel Santos defeated John Castaneda by TKO (strikes) at 4:28 of Round 2
2. Heavyweight Bout: Ilir Latifi defeated Aleksei Oleinik by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
3. Lightweight Bout: Joaquim Silva defeated Jesse Ronson by TKO (strikes) at 3:02 of Round 2
4. Middleweight Bout: Brendan Allen defeated Krzysztof Jotko by submission (rear-naked choke) at 4:17 of Round 1
5. Catchweight (140 lb) Bout: Chelsea Chandler defeated Julija Stoliarenko by TKO (strikes) at 4:15 of Round 1
6. Bantamweight Bout: Guido Cannetti defeated Randy Costa by submission (rear-naked choke) at 1:04 of Round 1
