After an uneven beginning to her
Ultimate Fighting Championship tenure, Virna
Jandiroba has emerged as a serious title contender over the
course of the past two years.
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The former
Invicta FC strawweight queen earned her fourth straight victory
on Saturday night, as she submitted ex-title challenger Amanda
Lemos with an armbar in the second round of the UFC
on ESPN 60 main event at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Jandiroba
outgrappled and outscrambled her opponent for the majority of the
contest before securing the fight-ending maneuver late in Round
2.
“She’s a fantastic striker. But on top of just being very technical
and very good striker, she’s a knockout artist. So I had to be
extremely careful with that because I know that any wrong movement
could be the end,” Jandiroba said through a translator at
Saturday’s post-fight press conference. “Luckily we were able to
put everything in place, get the fight to the ground and work the
way it did. She’s a fantastic opponent that credentials me to fly
on to bigger things.”
When she says “bigger things,” Jandiroba has one goal in mind: a
UFC strawweight title shot. She believes that an emphatic victory
over a recent No. 1 contender is that type of statement-making
performance that can make that dream a reality.
“You never know the plans with the UFC, but I believe that this
win, the way it went, especially not just beating, but submitting a
former title contender like Amanda who is extremely tough, I think
it should get me a title shot next,” Jandiroba said.
Reigning champion Weili Zhang
last defended her crown at UFC 300, taking a unanimous decision
over Xiaonan Yan
on April 13. It’s her second reign at 115 pounds, and the Chinese
standout is widely regarded as one of the top female
pound-for-pound talents in the sport. Still, Jandiroba belives she
has an approach that could give Zhang trouble.
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“The thing is, I’m not a very orthodox fighter,” Jandiroba said.
“With time, I’m learning that I fight weird. My style’s a little
different. The way that I grapple is a little strange. I know my
wrestling is very effective, my jiu-jitsu is very good, but it’s
not like you can say, ‘Oh, she’s like a proper wrestler,’ but I
make it work.
“And within the weirdness of everything that I do, I think that I
create problems for most people, and that’s how I can beat her.
With the weirdness, that’s how I get my arm raised.”
Zhang has beaten many of the other top contenders in the UFC’s
strawweight division. Outside of Tatiana
Suarez, who owns the longest active winning streak at 115
pounds, Jandiroba would seem to have the most legitimate claim to
the next championship opportunity. At least for now, “Carcara”
seems willing to wait it out to get her desired fight.
“I believe that a title fight should be next,” Jandiroba said. “We
don’t know how the division’s going to work out now, but four wins
against some of the greatest fighters in the division, and
especially with a submission over a title contender, I believe that
should be enough to get me a title shot next.”