Virna Jandiroba Establishes Herself as UFC Strawweight Title Contender

Virna Jandiroba spent the first round in a scramble-heavy grappling match with former UFC strawweight title challenger Amanda Lemos. Lemos wanted to prove that she was capable of testing Jandiroba on the ground. When the two women ended up there in the second round, Lemos found out why Jandiroba’s opponents all tried to stay off the ground.

For a moment in the second round, Lemos appeared to be successfully defending a rear-naked choke attempt. But Jandiroba quickly transitioned to something else. Jandiroba used her legs and momentum to wrap up an arm and roll into an armbar to secure a sound submission victory Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

Lemos, the third-ranked UFC strawweight fighter, was forced to tap out. Jandiroba is now on the shortlist of future title challengers. Tatiana Suarez is the No. 1-ranked contender for Zhang Weili’s title, but Suarez recently suffered an injury and is out for an undisclosed length of time.

MMAfighting latest news shows the other fighters above her in the rankings — Yan Xiaonan, Lemos, and former champion Jessica Andrade — have all already taken losses to Weili. Jandiroba is a fresh face and could be someone the UFC is eager to push against Weili.

The win over Lemos was a monumental one for her career.

Steve Garcia Should Have Spot in Rankings

Steve Garcia has experienced a large amount of success because of his desire to move back to featherweight. While Garcia did take one lightweight bout, against Melquizael Costa last December, during his current four-fight winning streak, he has found his power translates well to the division. Garcia dominated Choi Seung-Woo Saturday night.

When the two men exchanged on the feet in the first round, it was clear Garcia had an advantage. Garcia knocked down Seung-Woo less than 90 seconds into the fight. He immediately pounced on Garcia while he was on the ground, landing several ground strikes to bring the fight to an end in 96 seconds.

Garcia has now finished 13 of his 16 career fights by knockout, according to MMA news sites.

Kurt Holobaugh Continues to Fight 

Kurt Holobaugh isn’t a fighter that people can expect to not fight with desperation. Originally cut by the UFC in December 2019, Holobaugh worked his way back to the promotion by fighting on the regional scene and going through The Ultimate Fighter 31. With his son eagerly watching cageside, Holobaugh ground his way to a decision win over Kaynan Kruschewsky.

Holobaugh had to escape several tight choke attempts to win the fight. He was able to strike effectively and put Kruschewsky on his heels to do enough damage to score a unanimous decision victory on the scorecards.

Silva Sparks Durden

Bruno Silva is starting to put together a nice winning streak for himself. Silva knocked Cody Durden out in the second round to wrap up his fourth straight win in the promotion, with all of his wins coming by finish. Durden was hoping to try to keep up with Silva’s power.

But that proved to be a disastrous decision. Durden, who was ranked No. 14 at flyweight, got hit by an uppercut that knocked his mouthpiece clean out. The impact of Silva’s power shot sent Durden straight to his back along the cage. Silva gave him no time to recover, landing ground-and-pound to secure the finish. This win gave Silva a real argument to enter the flyweight rankings.

Senor Perfecto Has a Difficult Night

Bill “Senor Perfecto” Algeo may need to look at making real changes to his style if he’s going to stay in the UFC. During a fight with Choi Doo-Ho, Algeo looked like he was uncomfortable on his feet. During the second round, Choi threw out a left hook that sent Algeo crumpling to the mat.

When Algeo hit the ground, he immediately started grabbing around his right eye. It was the second straight knockout loss for Algeo. There was some speculation from observers that Algeo grabbing at his face meant he shattered his orbital bone. As devastating as the loss was for Algeo, it was a big moment for Choi.

Choi hasn’t won a fight in the UFC since July 2016. In his fights since then, Choi, who missed two years due to mandatory military service in South Korea, compiled a 0-3-1 record. Choi is now 15-4-1 in his career.

Hyder Amil Continues to Fuel Hype Train

The competition will only get tougher from here on out for Hyder Amil. But there’s no doubt that the fighter deserves his spot on the UFC roster. Amil ran his record to 10-0 with a quick win over Jeong Yeong Lee.

Amil scored a knockout just 65 seconds into the fight. It was the first time Amil stopped an opponent in the first round since he submitted Paradise Vaovasa with a first-round submission at Bellator 220. Despite Amil’s experience in Bellator, he still had to earn his way into the UFC through Dana White’s Contender Series. Expect Amil to continue to build on his perceived disrespect. Amil has won six of his ten wins by knockout.

Gibson and Keller Produce Exciting Fight

Cody Gibson and Brian Kelleher both have a history of producing exciting fights. Whether or not those fights end in their favor is irrelevant. Both men are capable of wrapping up submission, but also can submit themselves.

Gibson ended up catching Kelleher in an arm-triangle choke this time around. Kelleher had unsuccessfully attempted a guillotine of his own in the first round. Keller has now lost four straight fights and has lost via submission nine times.

Gibson snapped a two-fight losing streak.

Here’s a look at the rest of the fights not mentioned above:

• Women’s flyweight, Miranda Maverick win by decision over Dione Barbosa, 30-27 (x2), 29-28
• Lightweight, Trey Ogden win by decision over Loik Radzhabov, 30-27, 29-28 (x2)
• Women’s flyweight, Luana Carolina win by decision over Lucie Pudilova, 30-27, 29-28 (x2)
• Heavyweight, Thomas Peterson win by decision over Mohammed Usman, 30-27 (x3)

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By Dean McHugh.