Former Invicta FC strawweight champion Virna Jandiroba will experience fighting off a defeat for the first time on Saturday, but dealing with losses and overcoming adversity through competition is nothing new to her.
Jandiroba, who battles short-notice replacement Mallory Martin at Saturday night’s UFC on ESPN 7 in Washington, DC, had her first contact with martial arts at early age with kung fu and judo in Bahia, but only treated sports as a serious career path for the future after her older sister Laiane died of stomach cancer at age 21.
“I started training jiu-jitsu because I had an anxiety issue when I was a teenager, so I’ve been doing therapy ever since,” Jandiroba told MMA Fighting.