r/MMA • u/JozefKotry Team Topuria • 1d ago
Unconfirmed Virna Jandiroba vs. Mackenzie Dern set for UFC 321 in strawweight title bout on October 25. Is rumoured, thet Zhang Weili vacated her belt for planned superfight with Valentina Shevchenko
https://x.com/realkevink/status/1960274851270193285339
u/Heebmeister You have to take safe your brain 1d ago
Lol Dern about to be in a title fight when she's 3-2 in her last 5 with all three wins coming against non top 5 opponents.
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u/odegood 1d ago
But she hot though
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u/Ake-TL GOOFCON 1: Khamzat McGregor 1d ago
I checked stats and it’s kinda not as unreasonable as it seems at first. Suarez just fought for the tile and Lemos with Xianan are Virnas last 2 wins
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u/Heebmeister You have to take safe your brain 1d ago
Suarez just fought for the title against the woman who now left the division. It's still completely unreasonable.
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u/Dry_Beach_705 1d ago
Tbf if you look at the rankings there’s nobody else apart from Suarez who just got embarrassed and fights once every 3 years
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u/Heebmeister You have to take safe your brain 1d ago
Every other fighter at SW would get embarrassed by Weili, Dern especially. Would much rather watch Suarez v Virna.
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u/LogJamEarl 1d ago
Yeah... I mean I get the why she's in a title fight but she hasn't earned that shit.
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u/YourHurtingMeSir17 1d ago
Suarez just lost. Xiaonan is coming off of a loss to the correct #1 contender and is also 3-2 in her last 5. Lemos already had a title shot and got subbed a year ago.
Who else is there, Loopy? Lucindo? Ricci?
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u/Heebmeister You have to take safe your brain 1d ago
Suarez lost to the champ who has now vacated the division. Suarez v Virna would be a much more intriguing fight even if she lost dominantly against Weili. There's no excuse for Dern to be fighting for a title right now.
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u/YourHurtingMeSir17 1d ago
You're arguing for a broken down Suarez with 3 fights in 6 years off of one of the worst title shot performances of all time to get an immediate title fight? Come on
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u/Heebmeister You have to take safe your brain 1d ago
You're arguing for a middling fighter who has lost against every top 5 opponent she faced, and is 3-2 in her last 5, with all of her wins coming against mediocre non title-contenders? Come on.
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u/YourHurtingMeSir17 1d ago
with all of her wins coming against mediocre non title-contenders
Save for the current #1 contender, correct?
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u/Heebmeister You have to take safe your brain 1d ago
Are you referencing the win from 5 years ago when Virna wasn't even ranked yet?
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u/YourHurtingMeSir17 1d ago
Absolutely, avenging the win would be meaningful and still a more deserving contender that Suarez right after a title shot performance rivaling Namajunas in the Esparza rematch.
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u/Heebmeister You have to take safe your brain 1d ago
Absolutely, avenging the win would be meaningful
Lol should we also have Stuart Austin fight for the HW title so Tom can avenge his win from 10 years ago? Guess we'll just have to agree to disagree on that front.
Suarez right after a title shot performance rivaling Namajunas in the Esparza rematch.
Bizarre comparison. Rose sleepwalked her way through that fight while making no effort to win, Suarez tried to win but got dominated in every aspect of the fight.
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u/New-Bookkeeper-8486 1d ago
If Aspinall keeps winning this easily they're gonna be forced to dig him up soon lol
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u/curdlash 1d ago
It’s the only fight that makes sense though, assuming Weili is vacating and moving up to flyweight.
Virna is the #1 contender so obviously deserves to fight for the belt
Suarez just fought for the belt and got dominated. She is also booked against Lemos next month
Yan fought Weili last year and clearly lost, and also just lost to Virna
Lemos also got destroyed by Weili and recently lost to Virna. She is fighting Suarez next month
Dern hasn’t fought for the belt yet and beat Virna before, so it’s an intriguing matchup
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u/mentales GOOFCON 2 - Electric Boogaloo 1d ago
Well yeah.. if #5 beats the #1 contender, she'll get a title fight. That's how it should work.
Of course, we know that the competition in this division is painfully lacking.
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u/Heebmeister You have to take safe your brain 1d ago
She beat Virna 5 years ago when Virna wasn't even ranked, let alone the #1 contender lol.
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u/mentales GOOFCON 2 - Electric Boogaloo 1d ago
Did you not read the post title or just didn't understand it?
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u/Heebmeister You have to take safe your brain 1d ago
The post title? I was responding to your comment in which you said this
Well yeah.. if #5 beats the #1 contender, she'll get a title fight. That's how it should work.
Which I assumed was you referencing Dern beating Virna 5 years ago.
The post title has nothing to do with that statement.
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u/cemetary_john 1d ago
He's saying that if Dern defeats Virna in this proposed rematch, which this whole post is about, then she will deserve a title shot as she would have just beaten the #1 contender.
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u/Heebmeister You have to take safe your brain 1d ago
I don't think that's what he's saying, since Dern is facing Virna for the title, as the post clearly says. If she beats Virna in this proposed rematch, she will already by the champion...she won't need a further "title shot" lol.
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u/PictureLatter1098 1d ago
She's the only top contender with at least a 2 fight win streak besides Virna that I can think of.
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u/Heebmeister You have to take safe your brain 1d ago
2 fight win streak is pretty meaningless in the context of deserving a title-shot, when it's coming against the #6 and #11 straw-weights. Barely a year ago she lost to Lemos, and has no top 5 wins in her career.
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u/Western-Couple-8151 1d ago
Mackenzie Dern somehow becoming champ will most defiantly be a testament to the skill of strawweight.......
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u/Djlittle13 1d ago
For a long while strawweight was a deep fun division. It has taken a hit over the last few years
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u/thelectricrain PB cookies & Flat Earth 1d ago
It's aging out bad. The new-ish prospects like Lucindo, Jauregui etc haven't really panned out.
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u/LogJamEarl 1d ago
That next crop of contenders after Zhang really didn't turn out like we had hoped... 115 was super deep when it was Claudia, Joanna, Rose, etc... now it's Zhang and there's a giant step down.
It's what happened to 135 too... once Ronda, Holly, Meisha, etc, all aged out there wasn't much beyond Nunes.
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u/Djlittle13 1d ago
I think big reason was the addition of 125. Both 135 and 115 had talent and were deep. Due to the gap between the division, there wasnt alot of movement between them, and it forced them in those divisions.
125 came, and now smaller 135ers dropped, and big 115ers went up. Now, instead of two deep divisions, we have three week ones. It's a good example of why we dont need a men's 225 or 195.
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u/LogJamEarl 1d ago
Or a men's 165.
I'd also argue that WMMA hasn't had as many elite talents join as they did during the peak periods... outside of Kayla Harrison, how many elite level female athletes from other sports joined?
At one point you had one of the greatest women judokas of all time in the same division as an all time boxer and a silver medalist in wrestling.
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u/karl100589 Bowling: More popular then Nunes 1d ago
And that honestly was part of the appeal. Given how cookie cutter the style of most male fighters was the early women's divisions felt like a throwback to the early days, plus the girls fought with a chip on their shoulder because they felt they needed to justify their pedestal.
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u/LogJamEarl 1d ago
They also marketed them differently too... Ronda vs. Meisha in Strikeforce was them in expensive dresses with full makeup on, etc. Ronda was basically sex with MMA gloves early on, too... now they're marketed as athletes first
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u/karl100589 Bowling: More popular then Nunes 1d ago
The sexualisatuon helped, but I also think Strikeforce were more creative in how they marketed their marquee matches. I think about the promos with Fedor on the throne.
With the UFC their marketing of title fights amounts to "champion is great. Here's their next defence".
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u/Djlittle13 1d ago
I think men's 165 could sustain it as 155 and 170 are two of, if not the deepest divisions. But it is a big risk and you would have to make Welter 175.
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u/Chuck_Raycer 1d ago
Womens 115 was genuinely one of the best divisions in the UFC a few years ago. Now I couldn't give two squirts if they folded all the womens divisions.
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u/ItsDrManhattan Mexico 1d ago
Wmma as a whole seems to be bottoming out, to the point where idk how viable it'll be to keep around once Valentina and Zhang retire. Its actually kinda mindblowing how Rousey had seemingly zero impact on wmma in the longterm. There are essentially no prospects outside of Dakota
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u/Xi_32 POONCON 1 : Khamzat McGregor 1d ago
It's not Ronda's fault. The UFC simply does not pay women well enough for a career. The average UFC woman fighter can get a 9-5 job that pays more. Why get punched in the face for less money?
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u/ItsMichaelScott25 United States Minor Outlying Islands 21h ago
Why get punched in the face
While the money is part of the issue I'm sure the highlighted portion of what you said is and will always be the biggest barrier to entry to combat sports.
Kids grow up playing baseball, football, basketball, soccer, and hockey. Some parents now even have an aversion to their kids playing football because of the violence. You'll never convince parents to switch from the primary sports in the US to MMA because parents don't want their kids being punched in the face.
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u/New-Bookkeeper-8486 1d ago
We don't know Ronda had no impact long term lol. For all we know, without her it'd be long dead by now, its impossible to tell without a crystal ball
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u/Renwein Team Esparza 1d ago
on the one hand I get what you're saying but on the other she's a GOAT tier women's BJJer, so, I'm not sure that's such a bad testament to 'skill'.
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u/Western-Couple-8151 1d ago
This is MMA. A aging Jessica Andrade made Dern look like she just stepped out of a beginner's boxing class and into an octagon. Also out of her 10 fights she only has 2 subs.
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u/prettyboylee GOOFCON 1: Sad Chandler 1d ago
I’m curious what do you think is easier to win a title in strawweight or heavyweight?
Let’s say a 6’3” 18 year old guy started training right now vs an 5’4” 18 year girl. Who has a better chance?
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u/ANIME_FUCKER_69 1d ago
I’ll wait for Marcel to confirm, this Kevin has an inconsistent track record.
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u/Moni7T Team Makhachev 1d ago
Jandiroba should take this handily imo
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u/flatwoundsounds 1d ago
She's a monster of a grappler. Pretty cool to watch
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u/thecheckisinthemail Team Zhang 1d ago
It seems strange to say given that Dern has much better accolades grappling wise, but it does seem like Virna has used her bjj more effectively in mma.
Hopefully it doesn't end up a striking battle between two grapplers
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u/californication760 BIG BALLS, avg dick! 1d ago
It would be funny if it just ends up the exact same fight as the last time
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u/ratufa_indica 1d ago
Jandiroba makes sense but how does Dern deserve a title shot in 2025
Tweet is from Kevin so it's probably fake anyways
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u/DukeOfMania04 1d ago
I'm sorry but this upcoming Abu Dhabi PPV is not looking good especially for a middle eastern card and they're running out of options, Usman Vs Belal and Umar Vs Song/Bautista seem to be the only 2 solid fights they can add at this point
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u/drphilbangedmydad 1d ago
I don't understand why she/other champs moving up can't keep their belt depending on the result of their fight at the higher division.
If they win, instantly vacate the lower one If they lose, they're still champion unless they wanted to stay up there. Dana and co love interim belts so
They used to do this before with the exception of BJ Penn GSP, and then they went through that double champ phase.
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u/PictureLatter1098 23h ago
Because the women champs fight so infrequently. Do you want to go another 2 years w/o a title defense like Nunes did at BW?
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u/Berniethellama GOOFCON 1 1d ago
They’re so desperate to have Dern get a title shot they really just said fuck it and gave her one lol. At least Jandiroba earned her spot. Crazy thing is dern has beat her before and could win here, when imo she’s clearly not the best strawweight
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u/AlienMantid UFC 279: A GOOFCON Miracle 1d ago
This KevinK guy is not a reliable source. He spreads fake news all the time.
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u/MMARapFooty #NothingBurger 1d ago
At least Virna get a title shot Mackenzie has the marketability factor. I honestly favor Virna in the rematch even though Mackenzie won the first time around.
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u/timmy__timmy__timmy 23h ago
when asked if the fight will end by finish or by decision jandiroba said she could see it going both ways
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u/Far_Environment_2141 20h ago
I'll believe it when I see it, but this is a long time coming for Virna. She earned her title fight over a year ago, I just hope it isn't too late for her.
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u/danjr704 3h ago
WTF happened to the womens divisions??
its like theres 5 big names and then everyone else feels unranked.
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u/bluewafflewussy Marshall Islands 1d ago
Dern is not even that hot. Her body is amazing and her fighting is sub-par against anyone that can grapple.
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u/nah_dude_lol 23h ago
Cmon buddeh
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u/bluewafflewussy Marshall Islands 23h ago
Nah lad, she's got a horse face. It's backshots only
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u/nah_dude_lol 23h ago
Sure but offering that out of the blue is childish af homie
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u/bluewafflewussy Marshall Islands 23h ago
Do I care, little bro?
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u/nah_dude_lol 23h ago
🤷♂️
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u/Popular_Monitor_8383 1d ago
Virna JandiGOATa is going to beat the shit out of Dern and I don’t think this sub will be able to handle it
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u/TyrannosaurusRekts 1d ago
This sub has nothing against Jandiroba. She is clearly the more skilled fighter.
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u/Popular_Monitor_8383 1d ago
I think you’d be surprised
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u/Silver_Song3692 1d ago
Are there any examples?
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u/Popular_Monitor_8383 1d ago
No I’m just going to assert that I’m correct with zero data to back it up
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u/RawazTB 1d ago
Jesus Christ, not another champ moving up. They gotta stop.
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u/Silver_Song3692 1d ago
I think Zhang’s earned it, she’s kicked the shit out of the division already
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u/RawazTB 1d ago
Maybe, but she’s way too small for Valentina. Why not keep improving your record and set yourself up for a longtime GOAT of the division?
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u/Silver_Song3692 1d ago
It probably gets boring fighting what are essentially cans to you. She’s beaten the former champs in the division except for Rose. I wish she’d been able to beat her at least once but she doesn’t fight at that weight anymore
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u/2heads1shaft 1d ago
If this is for the belt, how is the champ moving up?
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u/RawazTB 1d ago
Is that a serious question? She was the straw-weight champ. She vacated to move up.
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u/2heads1shaft 1d ago
Keyword former. That means she’s no longer champ.
And more important, stop them how? Put a gun tot heir heads? Enslave them to just your wishes? They are human and can do what they want. The only complaint people’s have is a champ’s activity and if she’s vacating then there’s nothing to complain about except you want to control fighters in UFC.
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u/RawazTB 1d ago
You seem emotional
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u/2heads1shaft 1d ago
Emotional guy says stop fighters from doing what they want calls those that respond to his emotion response emotional. Okay guy 👍
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u/__Corvus99__ 1d ago edited 1d ago
Oh my God I fucking hate the UFC. Taking a deserving title challenger and giving them yet another extra credit assignment for the belt against their worst stylistic matchup who is completely undeserving of a title eliminator but more “marketable”.
Virna is on a 5 fight win streak of all ranked opposition, of which the last two were ranked in the top 5. Modern UFC matchmaking is defined by blatant favoritism and an almost completely decayed meritocratic process. This shit is disgusting
Edit: Me dumdum. Didn’t read the title fully because am used to seeing unnecessary title eliminators and got annoyed. Weili is vacating and this is a title bout
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u/snipingpenguin8 1d ago
Who’s more deserving at this point?
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u/__Corvus99__ 1d ago
Virna is deserving???? The only one deserving????
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u/YourHurtingMeSir17 1d ago
So what, she should be elevated to champ? Some meritocratic process.
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u/__Corvus99__ 1d ago
Nvm I’m so used to unnecessary title eliminators in recent years that I spazzed and didn’t read the other two thirds of the title lmfao. Just saw that Weili is vacating
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u/snipingpenguin8 1d ago
Ok, i see what you meant if you thought it was a title eliminator and not a title fight
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u/snipingpenguin8 1d ago
I’d say both Virna and Dern are the clear choices with Weili gone from strawweight,. Suarez is coming off a lost where she got absolutely dominated and Virna just beat Lemos and Xiaonan
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u/Aliensinmypants 1d ago
It sounds like this might be the title fight mate, and Virna should handle Dern... Whatcha griping about?
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u/Arguing_with_Robots 1d ago
This fight is potentially rigged. Dern being a champion will put female mma into the mainstream. And, mediocrity persists
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u/UntoTheSplinters 1d ago
Womens MMA is trash. Look at the way Dern throws punches, I can't believe she's fighting for a belt 🤣
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u/PictureLatter1098 21h ago
If you based title contention worthiness strictly on how well one throws a punch, Rousey would have never had a chance.
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u/person9898989 1d ago
How can Weili get a title shot after beating a couple amateurs (not necessarily Suarez) and not fighting for a year
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u/DickPinch Zhang is best girl 21h ago
which opponent of Weili would you consider amateur
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u/person9898989 11h ago
Amanda lemos for starters
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u/DickPinch Zhang is best girl 8h ago
Lemos has beaten Dern, Waterson and Marina Rodriguez who was on the cusp of a title shot herself after a pretty good streak.
I think you're reaching for grapes
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u/person9898989 8h ago
First off props for the tito reference, but real talk fighters need to start defending their belts, her last fight was in January against Suarez who had been off for a year.
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u/DickPinch Zhang is best girl 8h ago
It's not as if there are 12 months between each fight, Weili fought in August, april and February, so that's 8 months, 10 months 10 months or something
Yeah it's rare but she's also 36 and not a small 115lb fighter, that's why she's going up. She also called out grasso for UFC 300
Also I don't think Suarez is more injury prone than Dominic Cruz, that's not really her fault
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u/person9898989 8h ago
Some circumstances are out of her control I get that, I’m low-key just sick of fighters not defending the belt, as cool as ilia vs Islam would be and I do want that fight, pantoja is the model champ rn and they need to stop moving divisions including women’s no matter how boring they are
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u/tarheel0509 1d ago
Same guy reported in February that Islam and Topuria was “100% happening.” Not an exaggeration, that’s his exact tweet. Unless it comes from the UFC or Dorff, it’s fake until proven otherwise