Abu Dhabi – Virna Jandiroba dreamed of becoming a UFC champion before ever joining the promotion. The former Invicta Strawweight Champion comes into this fight on an impressive five-fight win streak and is the clear No. 1 contender, but it wasn’t always that way. Jandiroba has had to endure setbacks to get to this point, including dropping her UFC debut and getting off to a 3-3 start in the promotion.
“It’s great to dream of something, but to finally achieve it is even better. We’ve been on this journey for a long time. Saturday we’ll finally be able to do it. It’s been a long road, but now I’m finally here and I’m here to take over the title on Saturday.”
When asked what her expectations were once she got a title fight, and if she thought she could possibly face Dern again, Jandiroba shook off any idea of a set opponent in her mind.
“After the (last) fight, I really expected a title fight… I always thought that if it wasn’t Weili, it would be Tatiana or Mackenzie. But Tatiana came up losing, so it would most likely be Mackenzie,” Jandiroba said.
“Honestly, it doesn’t really change much for me because ever since I got into the UFC, I was chasing the belt. It’s not about any particular person, it’s all about the belt, not the opponent.”
With this fight being Jandiroba’s huge title shot and the chance to avenge a past loss, there could be a lot of pressure that comes with this opportunity. Instead, it seems Jandiroba is focused and not thinking about making a statement, but rather about showing off her improvements since then.
“I think the loss was very important, and more important than the fight itself is what I learned from it. I believe now that I am a very different person and a very different fighter than I was then. That’s water under the bridge, and it doesn’t reflect much of what you’re going to see on Saturday.”
Watch the entire media day scrum with Virna Jandiroba above. She faces Mackenzie Dern on Saturday night at UFC 321.
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