On the prelims of UFC 314, we saw a potential title eliminator in the strawweight division. Top contender and former title challenger Yan Xiaonan (19-5) was taking on surging contender Virna Jandiroba (22-3).
This was a huge fight and opportunity for Virna Jandiroba. Jandiroba entered the octagon on Saturday having won four fights in a row after getting off to a bit of a rocky start inside the octagon. She was looking for a fifth straight win which she was hoping to parlay into a title shot.
However, it wasn’t going to be easy against Yan Xiaonan. Yan has shown she’s one of the best in the world, but Jandiroba had a clear path to victory in this one and that was through the grappling. Yan has struggled with high level grapplers and that trend continued on Saturday night. Jandiroba was able to get Yan to the ground and she controlled her there. She also nearly submitted her twice and after three rounds, it was a clear decision win for Jandiroba at UFC 314.
What’s next after UFC 314?
The new rankings came out today and Virna Jandiroba is ranked right where she should be and that’s number one. Jandiroba is also in a very good position considering Zhang Weili has practically cleared out the division, but she hasn’t faced Jandiroba yet.
Sometimes match making is incredibly easy and this is one of those times. Zhang Weili wants to move up to face Valentina Shevchenko, but Shevchenko is facing Manon Fiorot next month for the flyweight title. I think Weili should face Jandiroba over the summer and defend her UFC strawweight title one more time and give Jandiroba the shot she deserves.