‘Biggest fight of my career’: Tabatha Ricci chases Mackenzie Dern with Virna Jandiroba win at UFC Vegas 115
Tabatha Ricci heads into UFC Vegas 115 treating Virna Jandiroba as the kind of opponent who can finally push her into a title conversation with Mackenzie Dern, but she is careful to frame it as one more step rather than a finish line. The Brazilian strawweight meets Jandiroba in the co-main event this Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, a three-round bout between a top-three fixture and a rising contender trying to break into the elite.
Tabatha Ricci plans statement vs. Virna Jandiroba to earn Mackenzie Dern title shot
Jandiroba arrives as the established name at 115 pounds, sitting at or around the No. 3 spot in the rankings after a recent title challenge against Mackenzie Dern at UFC 321, where she dropped a five-round decision but proved she can hang at championship level. Her overall professional record sits in the low-20s for wins with only a handful of defeats, backed by an impressive submission total and years of work between Invicta FC and the UFC.
For Ricci, this is the kind of assignment that changes how matchmakers view her. She entered 2026 on the fringe of the top 10 after a UFC run that includes wins over Jessica Penne, Polyana Viana, Gillian Robertson, and Angela Hill, along with hard lessons against names like Loopy Godinez and Yan Xiaonan. Sports databases list her overall MMA record in the low-teens for total fights with two to three losses, most of her victories coming on the scorecards with a smaller slice by submission and a single stoppage via strikes.
Ricci admits this weekend carries more weight but insists she treats every appearance as the biggest fight of her career, a mindset that stops her getting lost in rankings talk.
“I feel every fight is the biggest fight of my career so far. This one has some stakes attached to it though, right? It’s a little crowded at the top of the division, so if I go out there and get a performance, I’m right in that title discussion. That’s what I want. I’m going to go as vicious as I can, try and get my best performance of the night, and get my challenge for the belt.”
In Las Vegas, some of the conversation around this matchup drifted to grappling’s place in modern MMA, especially after criticism of Charles Oliveira’s wrestling-heavy performance in a recent BMF title fight with Max Holloway. Jandiroba, a decorated jiu-jitsu player with upward of a dozen submission wins and a history of finishing opponents with rear-naked chokes and armbars, represents that grappling-first archetype inside the strawweight division.
Ricci pushed back on any suggestion she has turned against that part of the sport.
“I never say anything bad about jiu-jitsu. I come from grappling, that’s my background in judo and jiu-jitsu. I love the grappling and I really support the jiu-jitsu in the division. I don’t know where this came from, but I don’t have anything bad to say about jiu-jitsu or grappling. If you’re a jiu-jitsu player and the fight goes to the ground, it’s very exciting because you know what’s happening.”
Over the strawweight belt hangs Mackenzie Dern, and now faces a queue of contenders that includes both Jandiroba and Ricci. Jandiroba already went five hard rounds with Dern in her title bid, while Ricci now sees a win this weekend as her ticket into those conversations.
“Any time, whatever takes me closer to my goals, I’ll be willing to do it. With a victory here this weekend I’d love a title shot, like any fighter, but if that’s not in the cards and it’s a rematch with Yan Xiaonan, Loopy Godinez, or maybe even a fight against Jillian Robertson, I’m open to it if it gets me nearer to the belt.”
Any of those pairings, especially after a win on Saturday, would keep Ricci close to the title lane while Dern, Weili and the rest of the top five sort out their own business.
