Virna Jandiroba has delivered a message to her supporters after falling short in her UFC 321 title fight.
Jandiroba and Dern clashed with the vacant UFC Women’s Strawweight Championship on the line. The fight went the distance and it was Dern who outlasted Jandiroba and captured the gold. Dern won the title match by unanimous decision. It is Dern’s second professional MMA victory over Jandiroba.
In the aftermath of UFC 321, Jandiroba made a statement about her Instagram page.
“I was not a coward in any way. I fought the way I live, with the courage to be who I am, to live my way. I’ll keep it up, champion. With or without the belt, CHAMPION! Thank you all for your support and affection. To my loved ones, I love you all.”
Speaking to reporters, Dern explained what it was like meeting Jandiroba for the second time (via MMA Junkie).
“I thought her strategy would be striking, like she did, and then try a takedown at the end of each round to steal the round,” Dern said. “That’s what I imagined her strategy would be. I feel like I kept checking the cage. I feel like I was landing more shots. We felt like we could let loose in our offense because when we fell to the ground, we felt comfortable on the ground. Of course, there’s always the risk of the shot being stolen because you’re on the bottom, but I was really just trying to be dangerous on the ground – by being on the whole time to fall and try to get a submission, and when I saw her If she hangs, just kick her off me and get back up.”
Jandiroba has suffered three losses in her last nine fights, and two of those losses were against Dern. Her five-fight winning streak is now broken. This was her first defeat since 2021.
Dern is now looking forward to who her first title challenger will be. She recently told reporters that Tatiana Suarez is a name she is looking at when Zhang Weili finishes at 115 pounds. Zhang will challenge Valentina Shevchenko for the UFC Women’s Flyweight Championship on November 22.
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