More than a battle of decorated grapplers, Virna Jandiroba’s UFC 256 clash with Mackenzie Dern is a chance to prove a point — and make a name for herself — Saturday night in Las Vegas.
A former Invicta FC strawweight champion, “Carcara” has beaten some talented grapplers back in her jiu-jitsu days in Brazil, like future two-division UFC queen Amanda Nunes and perennial strawweight contender Claudia Gadelha, but Dern has achieved more in terms of titles on the mat with multiple IBJJF championships and one ADCC gold.
Jandiroba will wait until Saturday “to see if she’s the best grappler I’ve ever faced in MMA,” but knows how big it would be to be the first to finish her in MMA.