The vacant UFC strawweight title is up for grabs on Oct. 25 when Mackenzie Dern and Virna Jandiroba rematch at UFC 321 in Abu Dhabi following Zhang Weili’s decision to relinquish her belt and instead pursue two-division glory against UFC women’s flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko.
The opportunity is a long time coming for Dern, who finally gets her first UFC title shot after kicking off her MMA career nearly a decade ago as a decorated jiu-jitsu prodigy.
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A Zhang vs. Shevchenko flyweight superfight had been speculated for months, dating back to each’s latest title defenses in February and May, respectively. So for Dern, the big question prior to UFC’s announcement was whether she’d compete for the undisputed strap or an interim belt. And ultimately, as she revealed Tuesday on Uncrowned’s “The Ariel Helwani Show,” Dern learned her answer alongside the rest of the world.
“[UFC] were kind of talking about the interim belt, and that was maybe three weeks ago, four weeks ago,” Dern said. “They were talking about it, but weren’t sure if they were going to do it. Then [we found out], ‘OK, they’re going to do it, [so] we’ll wait until they announce it.’ And then I found out by Instagram that it was going to be for the actual belt when [UFC] Dana [White] announced it.
“I texted [my manager] Tiki [Ghosn], ‘Wait, is it the real belt or the interim belt?’ [He said,] ‘Oh, it’s the real belt.’ So that was very recent, the change. We were happy with the interim belt — it’s still a belt and would be the next step to getting the [undisputed] belt. But the fact that it’s for the real belt definitely puts an extra happiness and gratefulness on it.”
Zhang’s departure from the division leaves a void atop 115 pounds that hasn’t been felt since the UFC strawweight title’s inception in 2014. In the 11 years since Carla Esparza and Rose Namajunas collided for the inaugural belt, every strawweight title bout has involved a champion defending their strap.
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The fact that Zhang won’t be given the chance to become a two-division simultaneous champion was arguably the biggest surprise of the announcement. Dern, however, didn’t find it all too shocking.
Depending on the outcome of the now-former champ’s flyweight return against Shevchenko, Dern would gladly welcome Zhang back to strawweight if she becomes a champion at UFC 321.
“I know Weili — if she ever wants to come back down, she’ll fight whoever has the belt next,” Dern said.
“I think depending on how her fight with Valentina [goes], if it would be anything like Alexa [Grasso] and Valentina, a trilogy and all this stuff, I think it just kind of makes sense for the division [to vacate]. She was so dominant in the strawweight division. Everyone they were throwing at her, she was just beating. Even if she wants to come back after this one fight with Valentina, I think that it would make sense.”
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Dern, 32, enters UFC 321’s co-main event riding her first win streak since her initial bout with Jandiroba in late 2020. The submission aces battled to a competitive unanimous decision on that night, which Dern won to extend a four-fight win streak that still stands as her best run in the UFC thus far. (Dern lost four of six bouts after Marina Rodriguez halted her momentum in 2021, but picked up recent victories over Loopy Godinez and Amanda Ribas to bounce back into title contention.)
Jandiroba, 37, has likewise rebounded to win five straight fights of her own and earn a much-coveted shot at redemption.
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Yet regardless of the improvements and changes they’ve made over the past five years, Dern is confident she can repeat the same result she secured at UFC 256.
“There’s no doubt in my mind that I can’t do it,” she said of beating Jandiroba again. “I know I can do it because it’s been done before. So the only question is if I can do it again, and can I [be] better focused on me getting better [for the rematch]? I know, for sure, she’s going to bring new stuff. Her team’s going to bring new stuff to the table. So I’ve just got to be prepared for that and fighting basically a different Virna — although we both know our strengths are grappling, but we’re both totally different fighters.
“I watched my fight with her last time and I was like, ‘Man, I was so petite.’ I didn’t really have any muscle. I was just kind of very girly-girl, and I’m way more athletic now and just able to grow the muscle and get a way more mature, athletic body to fight for the championship now.”
