Mackenzie Dern will rematch Virna Jandiroba for the vacant strawweight title at UFC 321 in Abu Dhabi.
That’s because former 125-pound titleholder, Zhang Weili, surrendered the strap to try her luck at 125 pounds, booking a flyweight showdown opposite Valentina Shevchenko as part of the UFC 322 pay-per-view (PPV) event in New York.
Dern didn’t find out she was fighting for the “real belt” until she saw
the news on Instagram.
“[UFC] were kind of talking about the interim belt, and that was maybe three weeks ago, four weeks ago,” Dern told Yahoo Sports. “They were talking about it, but weren’t sure if they were going to do it. Then [we found out], ‘OK, they’re going to do it, [so] we’ll wait until they announce it.’ And then I found out by Instagram that it was going to be for the actual belt when [UFC] Dana [White] announced it.”
I guess it’s better than finding out you’re stripped.
“I texted [my manager] Tiki [Ghosn], ‘Wait, is it the real belt or the interim belt?’ [He said,] ‘Oh, it’s the real belt.’ So that was very recent, the change,” Dern continued. “We were happy with the interim belt — it’s still a belt and would be the next step to getting the [undisputed] belt. But the fact that it’s for the real belt definitely puts an extra happiness and gratefulness on it.”
Dern (15-5) and Jandiroba (22-3) first went to war as part of the UFC 256 fight card back in late 2020, with Dern prevailing by way of unanimous decision. “Carcara” was the more consistent strawweight in the years that followed and is currently ranked No. 1 in the division, four spots above Dern.
To see who else is fighting at UFC 321 in Abu Dhabi click here.
