Following the confirmation that Weili Zhang will be moving up to flyweight to challenge Valentina Shevchenko, a new UFC women’s strawweight champion will be crowned at UFC 321, as Virna Jandiroba faces off with Mackenzie Dern.
UFC CEO and President Dana White confirmed the news on Instagram Live before a confirmation graphic posted to the UFC on social media.
Loading tweet...
White confirmed in the same announcement stream the end of Zhang’s second reign as champion, finalizing the long-awaited showdown between she and Valentina Shevchenko for the latter’s 125-pound title in the co-main event of UFC 322, three weeks after UFC 321.
Zhang defended the strawweight title three times in her second reign as champion, defeating Amanda Lemos, Yan Xiaonan, and Tatiana Suarez.
Virna Jandiroba And Mackenzie Dern To Fight At UFC 321 To Determine New Strawweight Champion
Jandiroba has won five straight and six of her last seven fights. Her two most recent victories are two of the names Zhang defeated in her second title run; Jandiroba defeated Lemos in the main event of UFC Vegas 94 in July 2024 and Xiaonan at UFC 314 in April.
Dern, the former grappling and jiu-jitsu world champion, has won two straight and three of her last five. Dern comes into this fight off a bonus-earning, buzzer-beater submission of Amanda Ribas in the main event of UFC Vegas 101 this past January.
White also announced Umar Nurmagomedov vs. Mario Bautista will be added to the main card of UFC 321. Nurmagomedov’s previous-unbeaten record came to an end at UFC 311 in January, falling just short of claiming the bantamweight title from Merab Dvalishvili. Bautista has won eight straight, most recently defeating Patchy Mix at UFC 316.
UFC 321 takes place at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi on October 25. The main event will see Tom Aspinall defend the UFC heavyweight title against Ciryl Gane.
