Jandiroba Sees a Dern Trilogy if She Beats Suarez

Virna Jandiroba and Tatiana Suarez share the co-main event of UFC Vegas 124 on Saturday, and Jandiroba says the winner has a claim on the next strawweight title shot.

A title shot as the prize

Both women have already been to the top of the division and fallen short. Jandiroba lost a decision to Mackenzie Dern. Suarez lost a decision to Zhang Weili. Each then won dominantly to get back into the picture.

Jandiroba calls the matchup a fair one for both sides. In her view the two sit close together in the rankings, so whoever gets through deserves another title shot. She even thinks the fight could work as a title eliminator, though she stresses that she is not the one who makes those decisions.

The picture at the top is murky, she says. Zhang has said nothing publicly, so Jandiroba assumes for now that she will not return.

The Dern problem

Jandiroba is 9-4 in the UFC and has beaten most of the other ranked strawweights. Dern beat her twice by decision. Three of her four UFC defeats were to women who held the belt or would win it later.

She still believes a trilogy with Dern could land in 2027 if she gets past Suarez. She describes her fight with Dern as a very close one.

A fight that twice fell through

This is not the first time the two were booked. In 2023 Jandiroba missed their bout because of an ACL injury and went straight into surgery. The next year Suarez withdrew from the bout after what the report describes as an "obscure" change, and was given a shot at Zhang instead.

Suarez then rebounded with wins over Amanda Lemos and Loopy Godinez. Jandiroba has beaten both as well, but she will not lean on that math. Against Godinez she was coming back from surgery and fought conservatively, she says, so that version of her is gone. Against Lemos she felt she dominated, even though Lemos defended takedowns well.

Her camp also has more tape on Suarez than before, including Suarez's fight with Zhang. Jandiroba says she has changed a lot since the fight that never happened.

Not chasing the ideal

Jandiroba speaks plainly about her time left. She does not have ten fights ahead of her, and she expects to retire soon.

"The belt is the moon, you know? But if I don't reach it, I'll land among the stars," she told MMA Fighting. She wants good fights and a chance to express herself, and she believes getting close to her ideal is enough.

Source: MMA Fighting