Two
Ultimate Fighting Championship strawweights with an eye on the
prize will tangle for a possible crack at gold.
Brazilian outlet Ag. Fight
announced on Thursday that Xiaonan Yan
(19-4, 1 NC) and Virna
Jandiroba (21-3) would be throwing down on UFC
314. The top-ranked 115-pounders might be vying for the next
shot at the crown that will be held by either Weili Zhang
or Tatiana
Suarez. Jandiroba had been calling for this match on social
media for the past month, and according to her
on Friday, she will get her wish come April 12 in Miami.
Yan fought for the strawweight crown at UFC 300 in April 2024, and
she came up short to Zhang by a one-sided decision. That put an end
to a win streak that saw the Team Alpha Male representative beat
Mackenzie
Dern by five-round decision and wreck Jessica
Andrade in half a round. Since joining the roster in 2017,
finishes have come at a premium for Yan, who holds one knockout
victory against a knockout loss on a ledger otherwise populated by
decisions.
While Yan won her last fight—a three-round verdict over Tabatha
Ricci—the contender from Brazil has prevailed in four straight
to propel her into this top-three encounter. Activity rate has been
a thorn in the side of the former Invicta Fighting Championships queen, with
those four wins coming in the last three years. On her way up the
ladder, she scored three decisions over Angela
Hill, Marina
Rodriguez and Lupita
Godinez before squaring off with Amanda
Lemos and tapping her with an armbar.
UFC 314 is scheduled for April 12, and its likely but unofficial
destination will be Miami’s Kaseya Center. Two other major bouts
are currently featured on its lineup, as Nikita
Krylov takes on Dominick
Reyes in a big light heavyweight showcase, while Gilbert
Burns tries to win one for the old guard against unbeaten
up-and-comer Michael
Morales.