Virna Jandiroba and Mackenzie Dern will fight for the vacant strawweight championship at UFC 321 in October, UFC president Dana White announced.
Reigning 115-pound champion Zhang Weili will be relinquishing her title in order to move up to 125 pounds and challenge flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko in a featured bout at UFC 322 the following month.
Jandiroba positioned herself for a strawweight title shot earlier this year by defeating one-time title challenger Yan Xiaonan at UFC 314 in April.
The 37-year-old from Brazil has won five in a row over the past three years, including a submission win over another past title challenger Amanda Lemos, plus a decision over the rising Loopy Godinez.
Dern has won two in a row, a decision over Godinez one year ago and a submission of Amanda Ribas in their January Fight Night main event.
The 32-year-old Brazilian star also notably holds a previous win over Jandiroba. The pair first met at UFC 256 in 2020, with Dern winning a unanimous decision with all three judges scoring the bout 29-28.
UFC 321 will take place in Abu Dhabi at Etihad Arena on Oct. 25 and is headlined by a heavyweight title fight between Tom Aspinall and Ciryl Gane.
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