Rivalries: Mackenzie Dern

Mackenzie Dern has yet to make real headway in the Ultimate Fighting Championship women’s strawweight division. Perhaps the time has arrived.

The decorated Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt will attempt to bounce back from just the second setback of her career when she meets Tecia Torres on the UFC 273 main card this Saturday at the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida. Dern has recorded four wins across her past five appearances. The 29-year-old Phoenix native has secured seven of her 11 professional victories by submission, six of them inside one round.

As Dern pores over the remaining details associated with her forthcoming clash with Torres at 115 pounds, a look at some of the rivalries that have helped chart her course to this point:

Amanda Bobby Brundage

Dern kept her perfect professional record intact when she submitted “The Ultimate Fighter 23” finalist with a rear-naked choke in the first round of their UFC 224 women’s strawweight showcase on May 12, 2018 at Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro. Brundage conceded defeat 2:27 into Round 1. Dern—who was widely criticized for missing weight by a whopping seven pounds—was once again content to stand and trade. The 2015 Abu Dhabi Combat Club Submission Wrestling World Championships gold medalist clipped and dazed Brundage with a sweeping right hand, bullied her to the mat and applied her ground-and-pound before climbing to full mount. Dern then shifted to the back and cinched the choke for the finish. It was her third first-round submission via rear-naked choke. Dern has not missed weight since.

Amanda Ribas

A consistent jab, airtight takedown defense and sublime lateral movement spurred the former Jungle Fight champion to a unanimous decision over the previously unbeaten Dern in a UFC Fight Night 161 strawweight feature on Oct. 12, 2019 at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida. Ribas swept the scorecards with 30-27 marks from all three judges. In her first appearance in more than a year, Dern was woefully inept on the feet and too often was left swinging at air. Ribas—who holds the rank of black belt in judo and Brazilian jiu-jitsu—scored with a throw in the first round, utilized an effective sprawl and peppered her counterpart with punches from the outside, all while announcing herself as a person of interest at 115 pounds and exposing some of the holes in Dern’s game.

Virna Jandiroba

Dern continued to build momentum when she laid claim to a unanimous decision over the former Invicta Fighting Championships titleholder in a UFC 256 strawweight attraction on Dec. 12, 2020 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. All three cageside judges struck 29-28 scorecards. Dern leaned on winging overhand rights and wild punching flurries throughout much of the first round, took a knee to the face that appeared to leave her with a broken nose in the second and connected on the more consequential blows in the third. There, she delivered a booming right cross that resulted in significant damage around Jandiroba’s right eye, scored with a persistent jab and landed several thudding body kicks. The loss was the first for Jandiroba in nearly two years.

Marina Rodriguez

The Brazilian muay Thai practitioner outstruck Dern and withstood a few harrowing ground exchanges with the jiu-jitsu ace, as she walked away with a unanimous decision in the UFC Fight Night 194 main event on Oct. 9, 2021 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. All three judges scored it 49-46 for Rodriguez. Dern had her chances. The Checkmat RVCA rep dragged Rodriguez to the canvas in the second round, threatened with a leg lock and moved into side control. From there, she applied her ground-and-pound from a reverse crucifix position and advanced to the back. However, the submission Dern needed never materialized. She managed to get Rodriguez back to the mat with roughly 40 seconds left in the fourth round, and though she ended the period in full mount, her last legitimate opportunity at a victory had passed her by. Rodriguez was the vastly superior striker and knitted together her weapons beautifully, from multi-punch volleys, front kicks to the body and crisp jabs to oblique kicks, knees to the body and standing elbows. Fatigue also played a role in Dern’s demise, as she slowed noticeably in the championship rounds.

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