Mackenzie Dern News

Cole Shelton - October 11, 2021

In the main event of UFC Vegas 39, top-six strawweights collided as Mackenzie Dern was looking to extend her winning streak as she took on Marina Rodriguez. Dern entered the fight coming off an impressive submission win over Nina Nunes which was her fourth win in a row. Rodriguez, meanwhile, was combining off her first UFC main event where she beat Michelle Waterson by decision, and before that, she scored a vicious KO over Amanda Ribas.

Adam D Martin - October 10, 2021

UFC women’s strawweight contender Mackenzie Dern released a statement following her decision loss to Marina Rodriguez at UFC Vegas 39. Dern lost a unanimous decision to Rodriguez in the main event of Saturday’s UFC Vegas 39, which was the “Fight of the Night.” It was a fantastic back-and-forth fight between the two 115lbs contenders, but it was Rodriguez who ultimately walked away with the win after out striking her opponent for the majority of the 25 minutes. Although Dern did have some strong points in the fight with her ground game, overall she was beaten to the punch on the feet. Still, it was an awesome fight and Dern gained plenty of respect for her performance in the fight. Despite losing, she went a hard 25 minutes and showed heart.

Chris Taylor - October 9, 2021

The Octagon remained in Nevada for today’s UFC Vegas 39 event, a nine-bout fight card headlined by strawweights Mackenzie Dern and Marina Rodriguez. The highly anticipated main event proved to be a classic strikes versus grappler matchup. Marina Rodriguez was able to simply outclass Mackenzie Dern while on the feet, but the jiu-jitsu wizard nearly finished the fight in round three thanks to her submission game. Despite her best efforts Dern could not overcome the striking prowess of Rodriguez and wound up losing the five-round contest on points.

Chris Taylor - October 9, 2021

Tonight’s UFC Vegas 39 event was headlined by a key women’s strawweight fight featuring Mackenzie Dern taking on Marina Rodriguez. Dern (11-2 MMA) had entered tonight’s main event sporting a four-fight winning streak, her latest being a first round submission victory over Nina Nunes back in April.

Chris Taylor - October 9, 2021

The Octagon remains in Nevada for today’s UFC Vegas 39 event, a nine-bout fight card headlined by strawweights Mackenzie Dern and Marina Rodriguez. Dern (11-1 MMA) will enter tonight’s main event sporting a four-fight winning streak, her latest being a first round submission victory over Nina Nunes in April.

Adam D Martin - October 8, 2021

UFC women’s strawweight contender Mackenzie Dern says she has her eye on Valentina Shevchenko with a future move to the flyweight division. Dern returns to the Octagon this Saturday night when she faces off against Marina Rodriguez in a women’s strawweight bout that serves as the five-round headliner of UFC Vegas 39. For Dern, she is 6-1 in the UFC and she is currently ranked at No. 4 in the 115lbs weight class. If she is able to go out there and beat Rodriguez, there is certainly a chance that Dern could earn herself a title shot. Right now, her goal is to be the best strawweight in the world, so a win over Rodriguez would help get her to the top of the weight class, where the belt is currently held by the 115lbs champion, Rose Namajunas.

Adam D Martin - October 7, 2021

UFC women’s strawweight contender Mackenzie Dern promised the Marina Rodriguez fight will be better than Johnny Walker vs. Thiago Santos. Dern takes on Rodriguez in the five-round women’s 115lbs headliner of this Saturday’s UFC Vegas 39 card. This is an important fight in the division as both Dern and Rodriguez are closing in on a title shot, so an impressive win could very well earn them a crack at the belt. But more than anything, Dern says she just wants to put on a good fight for the fans.

Cole Shelton - October 5, 2021

Mackenzie Dern had a feeling her next fight would be a main event. Dern submitted Nina Nunes in the first round back in April. After that, she was offered two short-notice main event fights. However, they never came to fruition but Dern had a feeling once Rodriguez beat Waterson she would headline a card opposite the Brazilian.

Harry Kettle - September 14, 2021

Mackenzie Dern has claimed she was offered a fight against Carla Esparza – only for “The Cookie Monster” to turn it down. Dern managed to extend her win streak to four back in April with a nasty submission triumph over Nina Nunes, bringing her overall record to 11-1. On the flip side, Esparza has won five straight with her victory over Yan Xiaonan putting her firmly in line for a title shot against Rose Namajunas.

Adam Martin - May 30, 2021

UFC women’s strawweight contender Marina Rodriguez explained why the proposed Mackenzie Dern fight isn’t happening in July as was expected. Rodriguez is coming off of a big win over Michelle Waterson in her last outing and beat Amanda Ribas by knockout before that, so she’s one of the hottest fighters at 115lbs right now. Similarly, Dern has been red hot as of late with a four-fight win streak including a submission over Nina Nunes in her last fight. With both Rodriguez and Dern ranked in the top-10 of the division, UFC president Dana White recently said that the promotion was planning on having these two women headline a UFC Fight Night card on July 21.

Adam D Martin - May 26, 2021

UFC women’s strawweight contender Mackenzie Dern says the Marina Rodriguez fight isn’t done despite UFC president Dana White announcing it. White revealed last week that the UFC is targeting a matchup between Dern and Rodriguez, two of the top-10 women’s strawweights in the world. However, Dern says that the fight isn’t done just yet. Speaking to AG Fight, Dern said that the UFC has offered her the fight with Rodriguez as the main event for the July 31 UFC Fight Night card. However, Dern said that Rodriguez isn’t ready to fight on that date, and Dern hopes she gets someone else as her ambitious plan includes fighting someone in July and then fighting again in September.

Adam D Martin - April 15, 2021

UFC women’s strawweight contender Mackenzie Dern has moved into the top-five of the division in the latest UFC rankings update. Dern defeated Nina Nunes via first-round submission at this past Saturday’s UFC Vegas 23 card. It was the most impressive performance of her career to date, and it improved her Octagon record to 6-1 overall. That was enough for Dern to move up significantly in the rankings. In the latest UFC rankings update, Dern moved up to No. 5 in the promotion at women’s 115lbs. In turn, Nunes dropped from No. 5 to No. 7, and Claudia Gadelha, Michelle Waterson, Tecia Torres, and Amanda Ribas all dropped a spot, as well.

Drake Riggs - April 12, 2021

Top strawweight contender Mackenzie Dern picked up the biggest victory of her career against Nina Nunes at UFC Vegas 24. Now, she’s ready to go all the way to the top. With three big wins in 2020, Dern extended her winning streak to a strong four in a row, the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt now envisions fighting for gold at the end of 2021.

Adam D Martin - April 12, 2021

UFC women’s strawweight standout Mackenzie Dern has issued a statement following her submission win over Nina Nunes at UFC Vegas 23. Dern was facing the toughest test of her career to date in the form of Nunes when she fought her at this past Saturday’s UFC Vegas 23. Though Dern was the betting underdog heading into the fight, she showed the odds were completely wrong as she was able to quickly get the fight to the ground and grab the arm of Nunes and finish her by submission. With the win, Dern improved to 11-1 overall in MMA including a 6-1 record in the Octagon.

Chris Taylor - April 10, 2021

The Octagon remained in Nevada for tonight’s UFC Vegas 23 event, a thirteen-bout fight card headlined by Marvin Vettori and Kevin Holland. The highly anticipated middleweight main event proved to be a one-sided affair. Marvin Vettori used the same blueprint as Derek Brunson to frustrate Kevin Holland on route to a lopsided unanimous decision victory. The Italian showcased his strong wrestling skills to dominate ‘Trailblazer’ on the canvas.

Tom Taylor - December 21, 2020

Rising UFC strawweight star Mackenzie Dern is expected to return the Octagon against established contender Nina Ansaroff on April 10. News of this bout was first reported by Brett Okamoto of ESPN, the official broadcast partner of the UFC.

Chris Taylor - December 12, 2020

A stawweight bout between Mackenzie Dern and Virna Jandiroba takes place on the main card of tonight’s UFC 256 pay-per-view event. Dern (9-1 MMA) will enter tonight’s event looking to build off back-to-back submission victories over opponents Randa Markos and Hannah Cifers.

Tom Taylor - October 9, 2020

Do UFC stars like Colby Covington, Mackenzie Dern, Cory Sandhagen and Cynthia Calvillo abstain from sex before their fights? From the sounds of it, no. There are many theories out there about the benefits of abstaining some sex before athletic competitions—specifically before fights. The science supporting these theories is hotly debated, and it certainly doesn’t seem like many UFC fighters are buying it.