Dern defended once. Nobody is booked next.

Mackenzie Dern is the UFC women’s strawweight champion — vacant-title win, one defense, nothing booked next.

She took the open belt by unanimous decision over Virna Jandiroba at UFC 321 on Oct. 25, 2025, after Zhang Weili left 115 to chase Valentina Shevchenko at flyweight. First defense: unanimous decision over Gillian Robertson at UFC 330 on Aug. 15, 2026. That is the last title fight the division has put on a card.

Zhang Weili remains ranked No. 1 and the division’s biggest ghost. Since losing to Shevchenko at UFC 322 in November 2025, she has no confirmed return date and no confirmed next weight class from the UFC. Treat the ranking as real and near-term availability as unresolved.

Tatiana Suarez is the clearest active challenger case after submitting Yazmin Jauregui Godinez at UFC 327 in April — she has eyed Dern publicly; fighter framing, not an event-page booking. Virna Jandiroba is still near the top after the title loss and a unanimous decision over Amanda Ricci in April. Denise Gomes is the riser: Round 1 TKO of Yan Xiaonan in Shanghai on Aug. 29 jumped her into the top five on a five-fight UFC streak. Form claim, not a title promise.

September 26 Fight Night at the APEX carries strawweight depth only — Amaya–Machado and Demopoulos–Jauregui undercard work. No strawweight title fight sits on any published UFC event page. Until the UFC prints a challenger under Dern’s name, the next title fight is open casting — and the Weili question still hangs over the queue.