UFC Vegas 61: Yan Xiaonan back in title contention after surviving Mackenzie Dern

Yan Xiaonan (7-2) defeated Mackenzie Dern (7-3) via majority decision Saturday night atUFC Vegas 61 to once again be a title contender in the strawweight division.

Xiaonan, 33, defended the takedown spectacularly, making the bout a back-and-forth striking contest at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

Both fighters got saved by the bell when they were on their backs, but Xiaonan finished the final round on top while landing ground-and-pound after escaping an arm bar.

Dern, 29, tried to give Xiaonan a hug after the five-round fight ended but the Chinese martial artist was focused on the result.

The win puts Xiaonan — who started her UFC career with six consecutive victories — back on track after losing her last two fights.

UFC Vegas 61 co-main event: Brown vs. Trinaldo

In the co-main event, Randy Brown (10-4) defeated Francisco Trinaldo (18-8) via unanimous decision.

Even though Trinaldo finished the three-round fight on top, Brown did enough in the first two stanzas to take the win.

His height advantage allowed him to create space between him and Trinaldo, and also defended well while on his back.

The unanimous decision gave Brown his fourth consecutive win but it was controversial because many believed Trinaldo got the better of Brown.

UFC Vegas 61 main card results

Yan Xiaonan defeats Mackenzie Dern via majority decision (48-47, 48-47, 47-47)

Randy Brown defeats Francisco Trinaldo via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Raoni Barcelos defeats Trevin Jones via unanimous decision (30-25, 30-27, 30-27)

Sodiq Yusuff defeats Don Shainis via submission (guillotine choke) at 00:30 of Round 1

Mike Davis defeats Viacheslav Borshchev via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-26, 30-26)