Karolina Kowalkiewicz will look to get back to the win column when she takes on a surging strawweight contender.
Kowalkiewicz (12-5 MMA, 5-5 UFC) faces Yan Xiaonan (11-1 MMA, 4-0 UFC) at UFC Auckland, UFC officials announced on Sunday.
UFC Auckland takes place Feb. 22 (Sunday, Feb. 23 locally) at Spark Arena in Auckland. The card is likely to stream on ESPN+.
With her back against the wall, the former UFC strawweight title challenger Kowalkiewicz, has lost her last three in a row to Jessica Andrade, Michelle Waterson, and most recently, Alexa Grasso at UFC 238. In desperate need for a win, she draws the streaking Xiaonan.
Undefeated in the UFC, Xiaonan has won all four of her fights by the way of unanimous decision, scoring a win over Angela Hill in her last outing at UFC 238. She hasn’t lost in over nine years, as she looks to continue her climb up the 115-pound rankings.
With the addition, the latest UFC Auckland card includes:
- Paul Felder vs. Dan Hooker
- Vinicius Moreira vs. Tyson Pedro
- Marcos Rogerio de Lima vs. Ben Sosoli
- Jake Matthews vs. Emil Meek
- Magomed Mustafaev vs. Brad Riddell
- Karolina Kowalkiewicz vs. Yan Xiaonan
