Virna Jandiroba, an Invicta FC champion, is set to make her Octagon debut at UFC Fort Lauderdale against former champion Carla Esparza.
The UFC is coming to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, in the BB&T Center on April 27. The card is headlined by short-notice fight between Jack Hermansson and Jacare Souza. UFC Fort Lauderdale features many up-and-coming talents, returning fighters, and a few debuts. In a strawweight bout, Carla Esparza was originally supposed to take on Livia Renata Souza. Souza would have to pull out of the bout and the UFC signed Invicta FC champion Virna Jandiroba to take the fight.
Get to Know Virna Jandiroba:
To know more about Jandiroba check out this full in-depth career review I did on her here.
How Does Virna Jandiroba Fare in the UFC:
Jandiroba is a high-level jiu-jitsu black belt with 11 submission finishes in 14 wins. Jandiroba has wins over two former UFC fighters in Lisa Ellis and Ericka Almeida. With a good submission base, Jandiroba has very solid wrestling to compliment her style. She gets inside in the clinch well, moving towards getting her hands together and dumping her opponents to the mat. She hasn’t had a problem getting the fight to the mat yet, and she’s been nothing short of dominant once the fight hits the ground. I easily see Jandiroba in the top five and possibly a future title contender.
How She Matches Up with Carla Esparza:
Both are wrestlers/grapplers so this is an ideal match-up for both fighters. Esparza, though, has shown subpar striking where Jandiroba really hasn’t shown her stand-up at all. Jandiroba has never been taken down whereas Esparza has 15 times in her nine UFC fights. In a fight that I’m sure will hit the mat, I’m positive Jandiroba has the better jiu-jitsu.
