MMA’s Finest
You always have to prove yourself… – Mckenzie Dern
She’s one of the most accomplished black belts in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, a No.6-ranked UFC women’s strawweight, and has won 50% of her professional MMA bouts via submission.
However, as the dirty dogs that we are, we MMA enthusiasts can’t help but discuss the beauty and sexiness of Mackenzie Dern, and to the delight of many, she returns to the cage this weekend.
Mackenzie Dern pulling up to media day with a massive dog is a mood.
Gotta fend off the haters and the long-handed weirdos🐕🥋 pic.twitter.com/G9n75pB8Yc
— LockerRoom RAW (@LockerRoom_RAW) January 10, 2025
Dern, 31, is preparing for her octagon return this coming Saturday. She will reignite a past rivalry with Amanda Ribas—UFC betting odds here—as the UFC Vegas 101 main eventer kickstarts the UFC schedule of 2025 on 11/1/25.
“I have the potential… I’m meant to be here.”
Mackenzie Dern (@MackenzieDern) believes correcting the “little mistakes” will lead to a much different outcome in her rematch with Amanda Ribas at #UFCVegas101.
Fight By Fight Preview ➡️: https://t.co/0LUHsQbvbV
— UFC News (@UFCNews) January 10, 2025
The RVCA Training Centre representative, born in Phoenix, Arizona, is unquestionably a savage when that cage door closes. Still, we must call a spade a spade, and this hot pocket, without question, has picked up a huge fan base because of her girl-next-door brunette beauty and, arguably, one of the most perfectly shaped peaches in pro sports.
Mackenzie Dern fight week pic.twitter.com/BqInmDQYPu
— Dovy🔌 (@DovySimuMMA) January 6, 2025
I know some will view this as a vulgar, chauvinistic take on UFC news, and we shouldn’t recognize Dern for her ASSets alone, but with 2 million followers on Instagram and plenty of body shots posted on social media, I’m sure she doesn’t mind that a huge percentage of the UFC community admire her beauty, so long as we keep it respectful.
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More Than a Pretty Face
Yes, Dern is exceptionally beautiful, and yes, few can compete with that backside. That said, she wouldn’t be where she is today without the elite combat skill set she possesses, most notably, the 3rd-degree level jiu-jitsu black belt she obtained before ever considering a move to MMA.
Prior to Dern’s transition to MMA in 2016, she’d obtained the status of the No.1-ranked IBJJF competitor in the world. Not to mention, she collected ADCC and no Gi BJJ world championships… casually.
Mackenzie Dern fight week 🫡 pic.twitter.com/tZmYhfeB7J
— UFCStats💭 (@TheUFCStats) January 7, 2025
Most impressively, however, is the fact that Dern is the only women’s BJJ competitor in history to have won Gold Medals at every black belt level! In other words, she’s more than a pretty face…
If you want to f*ck around and find out, you might end up with a broken arm or in a slump lying unconscious.
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Breaking Barriers in MMA
Dern is fighting towards a shot at UFC strawweight gold, which resumes with the UFC card this weekend, as she’s just one or two wins shy of placing herself in the title picture. Her beauty might seem positive to most, but in her words, she’s treated differently and not in a good way.
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During a podcast appearance in 2021, she discussed some of the barriers she’s attempting to break through as a hot pocket in pro-MMA:
“You always have to prove yourself,” Dern commented on the Trocacao Franca podcast. “ You seen men, if men are pretty in people’s opinion, men make fun of them, ‘He’s not that good.’ But women, no, they say, ‘Let’s all watch her fight because she’s beautiful.’ We go through that; you have to prove yourself even more.”
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It’s never been easy for women in sports, and their situations are undeniably unique compared to men. Dern, for example, had to put her UFC career on hold five years ago when she gave birth to her daughter.
On the same podcast, she highlighted how motherhood displayed the true characteristics of some of her, mostly male, social media followers.
“I lost 50k followers when I announced my pregnancy and 80,000 during my time off.”
7 wins by submission! 🇧🇷 @MackenzieDern returns this Saturday in our #UFCVegas101 main event!
LIVE @Sportsnet & @TVASports | Main 7pmET pic.twitter.com/yoRO7eihi5
— UFC Canada (@UFC_CA) January 8, 2025
This certainly shows a dark side to the MMA community and how fickle it can be. However, the real ones aren’t going anywhere, and we know that a combination of beauty and talent should be celebrated equally. Her quest for greatness, in loss or defeat, will be supported, and now, as a fighting mom, we have no doubt she’s making her daughter proud as a hot pocket who’s kicking ass in UFC fights and taking cheques.
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