The Women's Strawweight Division | 2026 Preview

Outlook for 2026: Dern didn’t have the smoothest road to the title. Early in her career, she struggled to hit the strawweight limit, but she eventually found her way, which meant securing a lot of wins via tapout. A 2-4 run from October 2021 to February 2024 left some wondering whether she reached the ceiling of a fighter worthy of a number, but not one who will reach title contention. However, a unanimous decision win over Loopy Godinez and a submission over Amanda Ribas, combined with several of her peers coming off losses, left the door open to a rematch against Virna Jandiroba with gold on the line. 

In the title fight, both women fought valiantly, but Dern’s all-around improvements shined as she took the title on the scorecards. The 32-year-old continues to sharpen all her skills and possesses some of the most dangerous submission grappling on the roster regardless of weight class, so her run as champion should provide plenty of intrigue. 

Zhang, at 36, could make history as the first woman to earn 3-time champion status should she indeed return to 115. and unseat Dern.

Also vying for shots include Tatiana Suarez and Yan Xiaonan. Suarez bounced back from her unsuccessful title bid against Zhang to defeat Amanda Lemos at Noche UFC, and considering her wrestling credentials, she could make for a fascinating stylistic matchup with Dern. Yan has a little more work to do, having split her fights since falling to Zhang at UFC 300, most recently losing to Jandiroba at UFC 314. However, Yan’s speed and striking credentials, combined with her improved defensive grappling, could provide heavy resistance.

Someone likely two wins away from the title picture is Gillian Robertson. The 30-year-old Canadian submission specialist found new life in the strawweight division, going 5-1 with three finishes since moving down in 2023. Currently on a 4-fight winning streak, Robertson is coming off a TKO win over Marina Rodriguez and was scheduled to fight Lemos to end 2025, a fight that could boost her into the championship conversation. That matchup was rescheduled to early 2026, so Robertson could still position herself well for a big campaign. 

Two younger strawweights hoping to make real noise in 2026 are Fatima Kline and Iasmin Lucindo. Kline took a short-notice opportunity at flyweight to break into the promotion in July 2024 but returned to her natural weight class in 2025, scoring knockout wins over Victoria Dudakova and Melissa Martinez before outdueling Angela Hill on the scorecards. The 25-year-old former Invicta champion should have a top-10 date at some point in 2026 where she can prove herself as a legitimate contender. On the other hand, Lucindo split her 2025 bids, losing to Lemos at UFC 313 before beating Hill in August 2025. The 23-year-old already boasts a 5-2 record in the Octagon with plenty of potential remaining, so it’ll be intriguing how she manages that development alongside the tangible proof of her quality. 

Other Names to Track: Alexia Thainara, Piera Rodriguez