UFC 321 Live Blog: Virna Jandiroba vs. Mackenzie Dern 2

This is the UFC 321 live blog for Virna Jandiroba vs. Mackenzie Dern 2, the vacant strawweight championship co-main event on Saturday at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi.

Jandiroba and Dern are fighting for a 115-pound title vacated by Zhang Weili, who moves up a division to fight flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko at UFC 322 on Nov. 15. In their first meeting in December 2020, Dern won a unanimous decision over Jandiroba.

A 12-year veteran, Jandiroba (22-3) is on the hottest streak of his UFC career after reeling off five straight victories to establish himself in the championship conversation. When Zhang made the decision to fight Shevchenko, it guaranteed Jandiroba would be half of a fight for the vacant title. Jandiroba reeled off five straight victories, including knocking out former title challengers Yan Xiaonan and Amanda Lemos, to earn her spot.

Dern (15-5) has had a rocky road to the top, but she recently avenged a loss to Amanda Ribas in emphatic fashion by submitting Ribas with an armbar, a clear sign of Dern’s evolution. The elite wrestler began her MMA career in 2016 with a lot of hype behind her after a decorated career in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. Now, she is one win away from adding a UFC title to her impressive trophy collection.

Check out the UFC 321 live blog for Virna Jandiroba vs. Mackenzie Dern 2 below.

This is actually happening, Mackenzie Dern is one good performance away from becoming UFC champion. How many of you sold your Dern stock, be honest.

On the other side, we have Virna Jandiroba, who has been working for just as long to achieve this goal. She could be about to join the list of former Invicta FC champions who will win UFC gold.