Mackenzie Dern Tops Virna Jandiroba In Slugfest – UFC 256 Results
Next up on the UFC 256 main card is a women’s strawweight clash between Mackenzie Dern and Virna Jandiroba.
Round 1: Both fighters are feinting early on. Dern lands a leg kick. Dern is aggressive soon after with a flurry of strikes. Jandiroba responds with a big right but Dern eats it. Dern continues to throw plenty of strikes but Jandiroba is game as she returns some of her own. Dern seems to have caught Jandiroba in an exchange as she goes for a takedown attempt soon after. Jandiroba is clinched up against the fence as she is doing a good job of defending the attempt. They separate soon after and return to striking. Jandiroba lands a nice body kick. Dern responds with an overhand right. Jandiroba connects with a one two. She lands a body kick soon after as the round comes to an end.
Round 2: The second round begins and it’s more of the same as they return to striking. Dern, however, seems to be the slightly superior striker and is landing more. Dern lands a leg kick but slips. Jandiroba isn’t interested in jumping into her guard as the fight returns to the feet. Dern clinches Jandiroba up against the fence soon after. Jandiroba reverses and lands a big knee to the head of Dern. Jandiroba is doing much better this round. Dern lands a nice uppercut. The fight is stopped momentarily as Jandiroba is accidentally poked to the eye. The fight resumes. Jandiroba clinches Dern up soon after. It’s unclear how but Dern’s nose seems to be cut as she gets taken down by Jandiroba. It might be a broken nose. After a few scrambles including a leg lock attempt from Jandiroba, the round comes to an end. After a replay, it was a knee to the nose that led to Dern’s nose getting cut.
Round 3: If Dern has a broken nose, she’s looking to end things early as she is more aggressive with her striking. She looks for a takedown soon after but Jandiroba lands a nice elbow. She reverses and now Dern is against the fence. They separate soon after. Dern lands a nice one two and seems to have hurt Jandiroba. She goes for the takedown attempt again but Jandiroba is doing a good job of defending yet again. Dern pulls guard but Jandiroba refuses to jump in. It’s become a slugfest with just two minutes left in the fight. Dern lands a nice body kick. The fight goes to the ground soon after and Dern ends it on top which might sway the judges on the final round.
Official result: Mackenzie Dern defeats Virna Jandiroba via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28).