Early career Yan began training martial arts at the age of 13. She started her professional MMA career in 2009 and she has fought in various promotions, most notably
Road Fighting Championship. She amassed a record of 9–1 (1 NC), before signing with the UFC. She won the fight via unanimous decision. Her next fight came on June 23, 2018, at
UFC Fight Night: Cerrone vs. Edwards against
Nadia Kassem; however she was replaced by
Viviane Pereira due to injury. She won the fight via unanimous decision. Yan faced
Syuri Kondo on November 24, 2018, at
UFC Fight Night: Blaydes vs. Ngannou 2. She won the fight via unanimous decision. Yan was expected to face
Felice Herrig on June 8, 2019, at
UFC 238. However, on April 30, 2019, it was reported that Herrig suffered from a torn
ACL and withdrew from the event. Herrig was replaced by
Angela Hill. Yan won the fight by unanimous decision. Yan was scheduled to face
Ashley Yoder on October 26, 2019, at
UFC on ESPN+ 20. However, Yan pulled out of the fight in late-September citing a foot injury. She was replaced by
Randa Markos. Yan faced
Karolina Kowalkiewicz on February 22, 2020, at
UFC Fight Night 168. She won the fight by unanimous decision. Yan talked of difficulty leading up to the Kowalkiewicz fight due to the outbreak of the
COVID-19 pandemic in China. She and her team moved her camp to Thailand to train for the fight. but a knee injury sustained by Gadelha ruled her out of the bout. The pair was rescheduled to
UFC on ESPN: Santos vs. Teixeira on November 7, 2020, instead. As opposed to her last camp where Yan was forced to move around three times, Yan says that the pandemic situation in China is completely under control and the fight camp for Gadelha was normal. She won the fight by unanimous decision. Yan faced former
UFC Women's Strawweight champion
Carla Esparza on May 22, 2021, at
UFC Fight Night 188. For her camp with Esparza, Yan has spent her camp splitting time between the
UFC Performance Institute in Shanghai and Las Vegas. Yan faced
Marina Rodriguez on March 5, 2022, at
UFC 272. She lost the fight via split decision. Yan faced
Mackenzie Dern at
UFC Fight Night 211. She won the bout via majority decision. As the first bout of her new six-fight contract, Yan faced former
UFC Women's Strawweight champion
Jéssica Andrade on May 6, 2023, at
UFC 288. She won the fight via knockout in the first round. Yan faced
Zhang Weili for the
UFC Women's Strawweight Championship on April 13, 2024, at
UFC 300. She lost the bout by unanimous decision. Yan faced
Tabatha Ricci on November 23, 2024, at
UFC Fight Night 248. She won the fight by unanimous decision. Yan faced
Virna Jandiroba on April 12, 2025 at
UFC 314. She lost the fight by unanimous decision. ==Championships and accomplishments==