Mackenzie Dern forgoes flyweight move, sticks to strawweight division
Mackenzie Dern will continue to compete as a strawweight.
Despite her recent struggles to reach the strawweight division’s 116-pound cap, she and her team have decided to stick to this division for now, rather than move up to the flyweight division, which has a limit of 126 pounds for non title fights.
This news was first reported by ESPN and later confirmed by MMA Fighting.
It’s been quite a while since we’ve seen Mackenzie Dern fight. The popular jiu jitsu specialist has not fought since UFC 224 in May, when she submitted Amanda Bobby Cooper in the first round.
Ahead of this win over Cooper, Dern missed the strawweight limit by a significant seven pound margin, which reinvigorated calls for her to move to flyweight.
Dern has also missed weight for two previous bouts against Katherine Roy and Montana De La Rosa, both under the LFA banner. She has also had weight-cutting issues in jiu jitsu competition.
While Mackenzie Dern has decided to stick to the strawweight division, she is still without a fight. Now 7-0 and ranked 15th in the division, she can probably look forward to a high-stakes fight with a ranked opponent when she returns. Her team is reportedly targeting a March date.
Although Dern has recently re-confirmed her intention to stay at strawweight, this has been her stance for some time.
“I want to stay at strawweight,” she said after missing weight for her fight with Amanda Cooper. “Hopefully, with the help of UFC Performance Institute it will be a lot easier and it will all be under control. If they told me, ‘It’s not good for you to fight at 115’, then I would go to 125. I’ve made 115 before, three times, so I think it’s a better weight for me. I can guarantee [that I won’t miss weight again].”
Do you think Mackenzie Dern belongs in the strawweight division?
This article first appeared on BJPENN.COM on 1/10/2019.
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Mackenzie Dern UFC
