Jessica Andrade could soon be back in the strawweight title hunt.
MMA Fighting confirmed with sources with knowledge of the bout that the former UFC champion is set to fight Yan Xiaonan (16-3, 1 NC) at UFC 288, which takes place May 6 at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. Eurosport was first to report the matchup.
Andrade (24-10), a former titleholder at 115 pounds, has spent the past few years competing at both strawweight and flyweight and is currently ranked in the top 5 of both divisions in the MMA Fighting Global Rankings. “Bate Estaca” was defeated by second-round submission in her most recent fight against Erin Blanchfield, a loss that snapped a three-fight win streak.
On the other side, Yan stopped a two-fight losing streak with a majority decision win over Mackenzie Dern in the main event of a UFC APEX card this past October. Yan is 7-2 in the UFC, with notable wins over Dern, Claudia Gadelha, Karolina Kowalkiewicz, and Angela Hill.
UFC 288 is set to be headlined by a bantamweight title fight between champion Aljamain Sterling and former two-division champion Henry Cejudo.
Guilherme Cruz contributed to this report.
