Tomorrow in the co-main event of UFC 321, we are going to see a rematch for the vacant strawweight title. Top contenders Mackenzie Dern (15-5) and Virna Jandiroba (22-3) will fight for a second time for the strawweight title.
These two fought for the first time in 2020 with Dern picking up the decision win. That win was during a big stretch for Dern where she won four fights in a row after suffering her first career loss. Following that win-streak, Dern went through a challenging time in her personal and professional life. Inside the octagon, she went just 2-4.
However, Dern is in a much better place now and she’s won back-to-back fights to earn this vacant title shot. The last time we saw her was back in January when she faced Amanda Ribas, who was the first person to beat her inside the octagon. Dern put on an incredible performance and submitted Ribas in the third round.
Virna Jandiroba was an undefeated Invicta champion when she was brought in by the UFC. She debuted against Carla Esparza and lost a decision. It was a bit of a rocky start for Jandiroba as she went just 3-3 in her first six fights with losses to Esparza, Dern, and Amanda Ribas.
However, she’s really bounced back incredibly strong since that tough stretch. Jandiroba has won five fights in a row to earn this shot at the UFC strawweight title. In her last two fights, she’s used her dominant grappling to dominate former title challengers Yan Xiaonan and Amanda Lemos.
UFC 321 Prediction
When you take a step back and look at recent history with these two, you’d have to say that everything is pointing to Virna Jandiroba winning the strawweight title tomorrow. However, as we all know with MMA, styles make fights and this is not a great matchup for Jandiroba.
Neither of these two have great striking, but Dern is much more effective with her striking. Both are tremendous on the ground, but I would favor Dern’s jiu jitsu over Jandiroba’s. This fight is going to the ground and the big question is, can Jandiroba avoid submissions and win with control at UFC 321?
I’m not sure she can. I think you’ll see Jandiroba get some takedowns, but I think you’ll see Dern’s jiu jitsu thrive in this matchup. I think you’ll see some beautiful scrambles from these two throughout, but at some point, I think you’ll see Dern get to a very favorable position and lock up a submission. If this fight goes the distance, I like Jandiroba to win this time around, but I think it ends before that with Dern getting a submission and becoming UFC strawweight champion.
Prediction: Mackenzie Dern by Submission
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