Virna Jandiroba speaks out following UFC 321 loss to Mackenzie Dern in title fight

Virna Jandiroba has delivered a message to her supporters after falling short in her UFC 321 title fight.

Jandiroba and Dern collided with the vacant UFC Women’s Strawweight Championship on the line. The bout went the distance and it was Dern who outlasted Jandiroba to capture the gold. Dern won the title matchup via unanimous decision. It is Dern’s second pro MMA win over Jandiroba.

In the aftermath of UFC 321, Jandiroba issued a statement on her Instagram page.

“I was not a coward in any way. I fought as I live, with the courage to be who I am, to live my way. I continue like this, champion. With or without the belt, CHAMPION! Thank you all for your support and affection. To my loved ones, I love you all.”

During a chat with reporters, Dern explained what it was like to meet Jandiroba for a second time (via MMAJunkie).

“I thought that her strategy would be striking, kind of how 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 stayed controlling the cage. I feel like I was landing more shots. We felt like we could let loose in our striking because if we did fall on the ground, we were comfortable on the ground. Of course, there’s always that risk that you could get the round stolen from you being on the bottom, but I really just tried being dangerous on the ground – like attacking the whole time and trying to get a submission, and when i saw her stalling just kick her off me and get back up again.”

Jandiroba has suffered three losses in her last nine fights, and two of those defeats were against Dern. Her five-fight winning streak has now been snapped. 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’s eyeing if Zhang Weili is done at 115 pounds. Zhang is scheduled to challenge Valentina Shevchenko for the UFC Women’s Flyweight Championship on Nov. 15.