The UFC strawweight division is officially entering a new era, as Mackenzie Dern defeated Virna Jandiroba by unanimous decision to win the vacant strawweight championship in the co-main event of UFC 321 on Saturday.
Per ESPN, Jandiroba scored nine knockdowns to Dern’s two, but Dern won the strikes landed battle 247-152 en route to victory.
This marks Dern’s second victory over Jandiroba, whom she previously defeated by unanimous decision in December 2020 at UFC 256.
The 115-pound title was up for grabs after it was announced that longtime titleholder Zhang Weili would vacate the belt to move up to challenge UFC women’s flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko for her title in a superfight at UFC 322 on Nov. 15. Zhang was in her second strawweight title reign and had defended the belt three straight times before vacating.
Dern was viewed as one of the most promising women’s prospects when she made her UFC debut in 2018, but it took her quite some time to put it all together. She’s shown a renewed focus over the last few years and defeated fellow top contenders Loopy Godinez and Amanda Ribas to earn a spot in the title fight.
A former Invicta FC strawweight champion, Jandiroba was riding an impressive five-fight win streak into Saturday’s matchup, most recently defeating Yan Xiaonan by unanimous decision at UFC 314 in April.
At 32 years old, Dern still has her prime years ahead of her. She could bring more notoriety to the strawweight division during her title reign. She should also have no shortage of fresh matchups available to her in the UFC.
Dern’s victory is a fulfillment of the expectations she faced earlier in her career, so she will undoubtedly be reveling in her newfound status as strawweight champion.
