UFC Analyst Blasts 'Insignificant' Championship Fight

On the "On Paper with Anthony Smith " podcast, analyst and former fighter Din Thomas pulled no punches in his assessment of the UFC 321 co-main event. 

Watch the full episode here:

“I mean this with all due respect,” Thomas stated, before asking, “has there ever been a more insignificant title fight in the history, not, maybe, in the history, but in the last, recent memory?”

He expressed that the fight has failed to capture the imagination of the fans, noting, “No one seems to even care or have batted an eye at this fight.”

Despite his criticism of the fight's insignificance, Thomas provided a breakdown of how he sees the bout unfolding, favoring Dern. He believes that Dern possesses untapped potential, comparing her to UFC welterweight Kevin Holland.

“If you look at some of Mackenzie’s performances, part of me thinks that she has a little Kevin Holland thing going on where she just hasn’t reached her potential,” Thomas explained. “She punches as hard as anybody in the division, she grapples as well as anybody in the division, she’s got gas for days, she doesn’t get tired, it’s just sometimes she doesn’t seem like she even cares about fighting.”

Thomas concluded, “If she takes it seriously, I think she should win this fight very handily.” 

This potential result would echo their first meeting at UFC 256 in 2020, in which Dern beat Jandiroba by unanimous decision. 

For her part, Jandiroba has stated that she believes Zhang Weili will eventually return to the strawweight division, offering her a chance to prove she is the true best 115-lb fighter in the world by defending the belt against the former champion.

In an interview with journalist Mike Bohn from MMA Junkie, Jandiroba stated, “I would like to have that challenge to fight someone who has been as dominant as Weili.. I believe I can give her a good fight.”

Despite her willingness to fight Weili, Jandiroba is not looking past her opponent this weekend. She knows she must make adjustments to her game in order not to repeat the same result from her last fight with Dern.

When Bohn asked her what her biggest adjustment was going into the rematch, she answered, “I think technically, physically, you can see a lot of difference, but the biggest difference has been my mental state and my self-awareness. I did a lot of work on that part of things— on my psychology. Not just the sport, but on myself as an individual.” 

While Thomas feels like the fight lacks the stakes or prestige of a championship UFC bout, this criticism is dismissive to fans who understand the hurdles both Dern and Jandiroba surmounted in order to come to this point. The outcome of this fight will determine not only who wears the strap but also who has the difficult task of validating their win to the talking pundits like Thomas, who feel like their championship fight for a UFC belt is “insignificant.”