Mizuki Inoue beat Wu Yanan with a split decision Saturday to open up the main card at UFC on ESPN+ 15 in Shenzhen, China.
Take a look inside the fight with Inoue, a former Invicta FC champion who picked up a win in her promotional debut.
Result: Mizuki Inoue def. Wu Yanan via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Updated records: Inoue (14-5 MMA, 1-0 UFC), Yanan (10-3 MMA, 1-2 UFC)
Key stat: Inoue barely outstruck Yanan, but won the battle of leg strikes 17-0.
Inoue on the fight’s key moment
“I’m a natural strawweight. I took this fight in a division above, so she had some advantage in strength. It was a very close fight. I didn’t know if I had won for sure, so if I lost that fight I would regret not being big enough compared to my opponent.”
Inoue on fighting in hostile territory
“I knew the moment I took this fight that I would face my opponent in her home country. The crowd was rooting so much for her instead of me that I thought it was so funny, it almost made me laugh. That relaxed me a lot.”
Inoue on what she wants next
“I’ll go back and talk to the coaches to see if I’ll continue fighting at flyweight or if I will go back to strawweight. If I stay at flyweight, I have to get stronger, which is something to consider. This is something I need to think about when I go back home.”
