This past Saturday night in the main event of UFC Vegas 94, we saw a pivotal matchup in the women’s strawweight division. Top Brazilian contenders battled it out as former title challenger Amanda Lemos (14-4-1) took on surging top contender Virna Jandiroba (21-3).
Entering the bout, I thought the fight would come down to who could control the location of the fight. On the feet, Lemos had a big advantage with her speed and power. Meanwhile, Jandiroba had a big advantage on the ground with her slick submissions and we saw one of those play out in the second round.
After a competitive first round at UFC Vegas 94, the two top contenders found themselves on the ground late in the second round. Jandiroba threw up a very slick arm bar and Lemos had no other option but to tap. It was a massive win for Jandiroba who is almost certainly going to be in the top two or three tomorrow when the new rankings come out.
UFC Title Shot Next?
Virna Jandiroba entered the UFC a perfect 14-0 but didn’t do that great out of the gate. Jandiroba went 3-3 in her first six fights losing to Carla Esparza, Mackenzie Dern, and Amanda Ribas. However, following the Ribas fight, she’s gone on a big winning streak winning four fights in a row.
She’s stepped up in competition along the way and this was by far her toughest challenge and she passed that challenge with flying colors. Now, is she going to get the next UFC title shot? Certainly, she’s deserving of a title shot and she’ll have the positional ranking for it. She also would present a new challenger for Zhang Weili.
That said, Tatiana Suarez might still be the favorite to get the next title shot. Suarez and Jandiroba were supposed to fight last August but Jandiroba suffered an injury which led to Suarez facing Jessica Andrade. Suarez finished Andrade which made her 2-0 with two dominant finishes since returning to the division. Suarez was in the final two along with Yan Xiaonan for the latest shot at Zhang Weili and the promotion went with Yan at UFC 300.
Suarez has had a tough time staying healthy so if she can’t fight, Jandiroba would be the next one up.