Virna Jandiroba had a shaky start to her Ultimate Fighting Championship run but has emerged as a serious title contender over the past two years.
The former Invicta FC strawweight queen recorded her fourth consecutive victory, submitting former title challenger Amanda Lemos via armbar in the second round of the main event of UFC on ESPN 60 on Saturday night at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Jandiroba grappled her opponent for much of the bout, dominating the scramble before landing the bout-ending move late in the second round.
“She’s a great striker. Not just a very skilled, good striker, but she’s also a knockout artist, so I had to be very careful about that because I knew that one wrong move could end the match,” Jandiroba said through a translator at Saturday’s post-match press conference. “Luckily, we were able to get everything in order, take the match to the ground and get going. She’s a great opponent and I’m confident I can make the leap to bigger goals.”
When she says “bigger things,” Jandiroba has one goal in mind: a UFC strawweight title fight, and she sees her recent dominant win over the number one contender as the kind of statement performance that could make that dream a reality.
“I don’t know what UFC’s plans are, but this win, especially the way I not only defeated but submitted a very tough former title contender like Amanda, should put me in position for a title shot next,” Jandiroba said.
Reigning champion Weili Zhang last defended her title, defeating Xiaonan Yang by unanimous decision on April 13 at UFC 300. The Chinese fighter, who will be making her second defence of her 115-pound title, is widely regarded as one of the best pound-for-pound female competitors in the sport. Still, Jandiroba is confident she has the approach to give Zhang a tough fight.
UFC 304: Edwards vs. Muhammad, Saturday at 10pm ET on ESPN+. Order now! “I’m actually not a very orthodox fighter,” Jandiroba said. “Over time, I’ve realized that the way I fight is a little bit different. My style is a little bit different. My grappling is a little bit different. My wrestling is very effective and my jiu-jitsu is very good, but it’s not like you can say, ‘Oh, she looks like a proper wrestler,’ but I do it well.”
“I think everything I do is weird and causes problems for most people, so I can beat her. The weirdness is what gets me in the arms.”
While Zhang has defeated many of the other top contenders in the UFC strawweight division, with the exception of Tatiana Suarez, who holds the longest winning streak at 115 pounds, Jandiroba seems to have the most legitimate claim to the next championship opportunity, and at least for now, it appears “Karkala” plans to wait until the fight she wants comes along.
“I think a title fight should be next,” Jandiroba said. “I don’t know what the division is like right now, but four wins against the best fighters in the division, especially with a submission win against a title contender, I think that’s enough to get me a shot at the title next.”
