Mackenzie Dern learned she’d be fighting for the undisputed strawweight title at the same time as the rest of us: when UFC CEO Dana White announced it on Instagram.
On. Oct 25, Dern faces Virna Jandiroba for the vacant strawweight title in the co-main event of UFC 321. It’s a rematch of their 2020 fight that Dern won by unanimous decision, and a long time coming for a fighter many projected to claim UFC gold when she entered the sport in 2016. But while Dern was sure she’d be fighting for a title in her
next fight, she wasn’t sure it would be for the undisputed belt until Dana White announced it on Instagram live.
“[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 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. 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 is fighting for the vacant title because longtime strawweight champion Zhang Weili decided to vacate the belt to move up and challenge flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko in a battle of the top two pound-for-pound fighters in the sport. It’s unclear if the UFC would have allowed her to remain champion or if Zhang was simply ready to move on, but if she does decide to return to 115 pounds, Dern knows she’ll be right back into a title fight.
“I know Weili — if she ever wants to come back down, she’ll fight whoever has the belt next,” Dern said.
“I think depending on how her fight with Valentina [goes], if it would be anything like Alexa [Grasso] and Valentina, a trilogy and all this stuff, I think it just kind of makes sense for the division [to vacate]. She was so dominant in the strawweight division. Everyone they were throwing at her, she was just beating. Even if she wants to come back after this one fight with Valentina, I think that it would make sense.”
Dern is currently ranked No. 5 in the UFC strawweight division and riding a two-fight winning streak, most recently submitting Amanda Ribas in January. Meanwhile, Jandiroba is ranked No. 1 in the UFC rankings and on a five-fight winning streak. And given her previous win over Jandiroba, Dern is confident she can do the same again, only this time for UFC gold.
“There’s no doubt in my mind that I can’t do it,” she said. “I know I can do it because it’s been done before. So the only question is if I can do it again, and can I [be] better focused on me getting better [for the rematch]? I know, for sure, she’s going to bring new stuff. Her team’s going to bring new stuff to the table. So I’ve just got to be prepared for that and fighting basically a different Virna — although we both know our strengths are grappling, but we’re both totally different fighters.
“I watched my fight with her last time, and I was like, ‘Man, I was so petite.’ I didn’t really have any muscle. I was just kind of very girly-girl, and I’m way more athletic now and just able to grow the muscle and get a way more mature, athletic body to fight for the championship now.”
UFC 321 takes place on Oct. 25 at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi and is headlined by a heavyweight title fight between Tom Aspinall and Ciryl Gane.
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FINAL THOUGHTS
— Meshew
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