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Brett Okamoto
Longtime UFC strawweight champion Zhang Weili has vacated her title in anticipation of a move to flyweight, and the UFC has already booked its next matchup for her belt.
Virna Jandiroba (22-3) will face Mackenzie Dern (15-5) for the vacant 115-pound title at UFC 321 on Oct. 25 in Abu Dhabi. UFC CEO Dana White announced the fight Thursday.
Zhang (26-3) left the division to challenge Valentina Shevchenko for the flyweight title at UFC 322 on Nov. 15 in New York.
The title fight is a rematch of a bout from December 2020. Dern defeated Jandiroba via unanimous decision in a three-round contest.
Jandiroba has gone 6-1 since that meeting in 2020, including an active five-fight win streak. Dern’s path has been more up and down, with a record of 5-4. Despite the uneven record, Dern has looked good in her past two performances, recording wins over Loopy Godinez and Amanda Ribas.
A heavyweight title fight between Tom Aspinall (15-3) and Ciryl Gane (13-2) will headline UFC 321 at Etihad Arena. White also announced a bantamweight matchup between former title challenger Umar Nurmagomedov (18-1) and Mario Bautista (16-2) for the event.