UFC analyst Din Thomas is not a fan of the UFC 321 co-main event with Mackenzie Dern vs. Virna Jandiroba.
Dern and Jandiroba will once again battle for the vacant strawweight title after Weili Zhang left the belt to move up against Valentina Shevchenko for the flyweight title. Before Saturday’s fight, Thomas addressed the fight, calling it the least important title fight in UFC history.
“I mean this with all due respect,” Thomas said on television “On Paper with Anthony Smith” podcast. “I’m trying to be just as respectful, but has there ever been a more insignificant title fight in history – not maybe in history, but in recent memory? You understand where I’m coming from, right? No one even seems to care or bat an eye at this fight.”
Thomas doesn’t believe the fight has much buzz or feels like a title fight, which is why he thinks it feels insignificant. But regardless of what Thomas thinks, a new strawweight champion will be crowned Saturday at UFC 321.
Din Thomas expects Mackenzie Dern to become the new champion at UFC 321
Although Din Thomas doesn’t think it’s a big fight, he does believe Mackenzie Dern will win with ease.
Thomas doesn’t believe Dern has reached her prime or shown the best of her abilities. But he believes that if Dern takes this fight seriously, she will win and become the new champion.
“Mackenzie Dern, she hits as hard as anyone in the division, she wrestles as good as anyone in the division, she has gas for days, she doesn’t get tired,” Thomas said. “It’s just that sometimes it seems like she doesn’t even care about fighting. I talked to her at the station and she said, ‘Oh, I didn’t really know how to throw punches.’
“She was already a professional and didn’t know these things. I’m thinking, how did you make it this far? She’s very good on the ground, she’s very athletic and she was born for this. She’s been in the fight all her life. I feel like, if she takes it seriously, I think she should win this fight pretty easily.”
Dern defeated Jandiroba by decision at UFC 256 in December 2020.
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