Looking to rebound from the first title fight setback of her career, Virna Jandiroba returns to action this Saturday night at UFC Vegas 115, where she meets Tabatha Ricci inside the UFC Apex.
Jandiroba (22-4) comes off a loss in her first title bout against current champion Mackenzie Dern at UFC 321 last October. Now with a new focus she’s ready to get back on track.
“It’s a restart. That’s something that I’m used to and I deal well with. I took a couple of weeks off, but now we’re back on track with new focus,” Jandiroba told reporters through a translator on Wednesday.
“With new objectives, new attention to the game, and we’re going to start climbing back in.”
Despite coming out on the losing end, Jandiroba maintained a positive perspective, saying she left the fight better than when she entered the Octagon against Dern.
“I think that it was a fight where I came out bigger than I came in. Although I did end up losing the fight I think I gained a lot from the experience,” she said.
At UFC Vegas 115 she faces Ricci who will look to use her name to launch herself into the title picture in 2026.
“Tabatha is very good at MMA as a whole. She’s very good at combining the different aspects of MMA, but I’m more than ready for it,” she said.
“I know that in some specifics I’m probably going to have an advantage over her, but our overall game is very fluid. She’s very good at it. She’s coming off a win, so maybe she has a little bit more confidence, which can be useful for me. We’ll see when fight comes.”
Watch the entire media day scrum with Virna Jandiroba above. She faces Tabatha Ricci at UFC Vegas 115 on Saturday night.
