Mackenzie Dern has spent the last seven years working toward a shot at the UFC Strawweight Championship on Saturday night in the UFC 321 co-main event. Since joining the UFC’s active roster from Invicta in early 2018, she has made the walk to the legendary Octagon 15 times.
During her fifteen fights in the UFC, Dern has fought Amanda Ribas twice, going 1-1 in that series, and most recently defeated Ribas in the rematch on the first card of the year on January 11. Earlier this year, the UFC Strawweight Championship was vacated by Zhang Weili, who chosen to try her luck at flyweight for a title fight against Valentina Shevchenko at UFC 322 next month.
During her fifteen fights in the UFC, Dern has fought Amanda Ribas twice, going 1-1 in that series, and most recently defeated Ribas in the rematch on the first card of the year on January 11. Earlier this year, the UFC Strawweight Championship was vacated by Zhang Weili, who chosen to try her luck at flyweight for a title fight against Valentina Shevchenko at UFC 322 next month.Saturday night in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, the question of who will be the new UFC Strawweight Champion will be answered between No. 1 contender Virna Jandiroba and No. 5 contender Mackenzie Dern. It will be a fight of five rounds of five minutes per round.
Mackenzie Dern embraces opportunity in UFC 321 Saturday
Wednesday, Mackenzie Dern meeting with the assembled press for UFC 321 media day. During her pre-fight press conference, she discussed her feelings about her shot at strawweight gold next weekend.
“I was just trying to grow the ranks and learn the whole sport,” Mackenzie Dern began. “That’s what made me want to fight for the title now, and it’s really surreal how it happened. I think the focus was always on getting better day by day and putting myself in uncomfortable situations and feeling like we made it here and this is a great match for us.”
As previously mentioned, Zhang Weil’s break from the strawweight championship has made way for next Saturday’s main attraction in Abu Dhabi. Much like the match Mackenzie Dern had against Amanda Ribas to start 2025, this is also a rematch, something that is not lost on her.
“Obviously it could go either way,” Dern said of Saturday’s rematch, “but it definitely gives you a little bit, like you know it’s possible. We just kept training. My last fight with Amanda was eight months ago. This whole camp we were training all over the place, but we didn’t train anything specifically for Virna.”
Looking back at Mackenzie Dern vs. Virna Jandiroba I
Mackenzie Dern and Virna Jandiroba met in the legendary Octagon almost five years ago. As will be the case with the rematch this weekend, this fight took place at a flagship event.
Against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic, Dern earned a unanimous decision victory over Jandiroba after 15 minutes of action. This time the stakes are higher and, by extension, the facts surrounding this battle are coldly simple:
Chapter two of this story will be more dramatic, as there is a championship on the line and the winner of this fight will become just the sixth different woman to hold the UFC Strawweight Champion since the 115-lb division title was inaugurated nearly 11 years ago.
Final thoughts
Mackenzie Dern’s journey in MMA has led her to a shot at the UFC Strawweight Championship on Saturday night at UFC 321, renewing a rivalry nearly five years in the making.
With this in mind, there is one more simple question we can ask as we say goodbye to you on this day:
Will Mackenzie Dern go 2-for-2 against Jandiroba in five years or will the latter even the score? Tune in and find out.
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