UFC 321 winner Mackenzie Dern reveals potential contender following title win

Mackenzie Dern is the newly minted UFC Women’s Strawweight Champion, and she already has an idea of who her first title challenger could be.

Dern and Virna Jandiroba collided for the vacant 115-pound gold in the UFC 321 co-main event. This was a rematch from their bout back in 2020, which Dern won via unanimous decision. The rematch in Abu Dhabi went all five rounds, and Dern had all three judges award her the title win.

Speaking to reporters during the UFC 321 post-fight press conference, Dern revealed which name outside of Zhang Weili could be fighting for her gold next (h/t MMAJunkie).

“I don’t know how much say I have now being a champion,” Dern said. “I don’t know how much my word and my decisions get into play. But I’m here to defend it, so whoever gets sent to me, I’ll be ready for. I don’t know if (Zhang) Weili (will come back), but I would definitely like to fight Tatiana (Suarez). Maybe she gets one more fight in. I want to have a couple more fights with some grapplers.”

Suarez last competed back in September. She defeated Amanda Lemos via unanimous decision. It was a nice bounce back win for Suarez, who was coming off a one-sided loss to Weili, which was contested for the strawweight gold. It was the first pro MMA loss on Suarez’s record.

Weili will be challenging Valentina Shevchenko for the UFC Women’s Flyweight Championship on Nov. 15. The bout will be featured on the UFC 322 card in New York City. Time will tell what Weili will decide to do after the super fight regardless of the outcome.

As for Dern, she’ll hope to prove that her reign at the top of the 115-pound mountain is here to stay. BJPenn.com will keep you updated on what’s next for Dern in the coming months.