Mackenzie Dern will now be fighting for the strawweight world title at UFC 321 on October 25th, 2025, as she faces Virna Jandiroba for the vacant belt. This will be the first time that either woman has fought for a UFC title and the opportunity has only come around because the reigning champion, Zhang Weili, has vacated the belt. Weili has done that in order to move up to the flyweight division in pursuit of a second title, and she will be challenging Valentina Shevchenko for that belt at UFC 322. Dern and Jandiroba were then called up and given the chance to become champions for the first time based on their position in the rankings.
Jandiroba in particular is undeniably deserving of the shot, as she’s currently ranked at number one in the division. She’s riding an impressive five-fight winning streak over the past two years; a run that includes wins over two of the other top-five women in the division as well. Dern on the other hand is only ranked 5th, but she’s held on to that approximate position for quite a while now. While Jandiroba has gone on her winning streak, Dern has gone 4-3; but all of those fights have been against ranked opponents. She also holds a decision win over Jandiroba dating back to 2020, adding an extra element to the title-fight.
It’ll likely be a good fight for grappling fans to watch too, as both women are submission specialists first and foremost. Dern has always been an elite grappler and only made the transition to MMA after already winning an ADCC and IBJJF World Championship title, while Jandiroba focused on using her grappling in MMA immediately. They’ve both had success in using their Jiu-Jitsu with strikes though, as Jandiroba has 14 submission wins in 25 fights and Dern has 8 in 20. The only downside for these kinds of matchups is that they can often both be tentative in engaging on the ground and it might devolve into a striking match between grapplers.
ESPN announced the news that Mackenzie Dern and Virna Jandiroba would be fighting for the vacant strawweight title at UFC 321 in a recent post to their official Instagram account:
