Browsing: Mackenzie

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Mackenzie Dern Beats Virna Jandiroba to Win Strawweight Title at UFC 321

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The UFC strawweight division is officially entering a new era, as Mackenzie Dern defeated Virna Jandiroba by unanimous decision to win the vacant strawweight championship in the co-main event of UFC 321 on Saturday.

Per ESPN, Jandiroba scored nine knockdowns to Dern’s two, but Dern won the strikes landed battle 247-152 en route to victory.

This marks Dern’s second victory over Jandiroba, whom she previously defeated by unanimous decision in December 2020 at UFC 256.

The 115-pound title was up for grabs after it was announced that longtime titleholder Zhang Weili would vacate the belt to move up to challenge UFC women’s flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko for her title in a superfight at UFC 322 on Nov. 15. Zhang was in her second strawweight title reign and had defended the belt three straight times before vacating.

Dern was viewed as one of the most promising women’s prospects when she made her UFC debut in 2018, but it took her quite some time to put it all together. She’s shown a renewed focus over the last few years and defeated fellow top contenders Loopy Godinez and Amanda Ribas to earn a spot in the title fight.

A former Invicta FC strawweight champion, Jandiroba was riding an impressive five-fight win streak into Saturday’s matchup, most recently defeating Yan Xiaonan by unanimous decision at UFC 314 in April.

At 32 years old, Dern still has her prime years ahead of her. She could bring more notoriety to the strawweight division during her title reign. She should also have no shortage of fresh matchups available to her in the UFC.

Dern’s victory is a fulfillment of the expectations she faced earlier in her career, so she will undoubtedly be reveling in her newfound status as strawweight champion.

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Why the survival of this Alister MacKenzie muni means so much to golf

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Sharp Park Golf Course, just south of San Francisco, has a unique claim to fame. It’s the only seaside municipal course in the United States designed by Alister MacKenzie. It is also something of a cause célèbre. Golfers have long been rallying around it.

The layout has not had an easy life. Completed in 1932, the course has been spliced by a highway and inundated by ocean flooding. Time and deferred maintenance have taken their toll.

But while a handful of original holes have been lost, much of MacKenzie’s work remains. His imprint is clear in the deceptive hazards and artful doglegs, and the humps and bumps of the greens and fairways. With Pacific waves crashing in the backdrop and wind-coiffed cypress trees framing the grounds, the property has a mystic feel about it. The rustic clubhouse complements the atmosphere and reflects the price point. Weekend green fees max out at $86.

Just as it has weathered the indignities of age, Sharp Park has endured its share of controversy. Over the years, environmental groups have pushed to have it shuttered, casting it as a blight whose acreage would be better put to other uses. Advocates for the course have been resolute in its defense, in legal battles with more moving parts than Jim Furyk’s swing.

Of Sharp Park’s many protectors, none has been more active than Richard Harris, a founding member of the San Francisco Public Golf Alliance. Utah born and Bay Area raised, Harris grew up in a middle-class family but came of age around golf royalty. As a kid, he caddied at the Stanford University golf course, looping for the likes of Sandy Tatum and Grant Spaeth, both of whom went on to lead the USGA.

Harris went on to play at Stanford, too, a Cardinal teammate of Tom Watson.

As a Stanford grad, Harris enjoys playing privileges at the school’s George Thomas-designed course. But he is a muni golfer at his core. His work with the SF Public Golf Alliance (a nonprofit whose mission parallels its name) underscores that ethos. The San Francisco area has a robust municipal golf scene, and a rich history behind it. But threats to muni golf — rising costs, political pressure — are persistent, which makes Harris a busy man.

Among his many duties, Harris helps organize an annual fundraising tournament at Sharp Park. This year’s edition was held last Friday. In the wake of that event, Harris appeared on the Destination Golf podcast for a wide-ranging conversation about his life in golf, the value of muni golf and why the survival of Sharp Park is about much more than the fate of a single course. You can listen to the episode here or below. An auction to support Sharp Park will open to the public on Nov. 30, with items including tee times at a number of GOLF Top 100 courses.