Happy to be starring in his first main fight, Mackenzie wants to consolidate himself as the main name in jiu-jitsu in MMA

M. Dern is on a four-fight winning streak in the UFC. Photo: Reproduction/Instagram

protagonist of UFC Las Vegas 39 next to Marina Rodriguez, Mackenzie dern admitted she was excited to participate in her first main fight in the company. The Brazilian fighter shared behind-the-scenes details that left her excited and revealed plans to establish herself as the main representative of jiu-jitsu in mixed martial arts. The statement was given in an interview with 'Combate'.

READ TOO: Brazilian by right and heart, Mackenzie Dern has her first main fight at UFC Las Vegas 39

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"I am really happy. I haven't gotten to where I want to be yet, I'm just at the beginning. I knew I would do the main fight two months ago, so it gave me more prestige, as every athlete dreams of one day doing this. I was signing the posters for the event and I saw my face, I was unsure where I was going to sign, as I didn't want to sign on my forehead. These details, these nice things about conquering your space and seeing that everything is working out”, said Mackenzie.

Considered one of the biggest names in the history of jiu-jitsu, the Brazilian fighter stated that she wants to establish herself as a representative of the gentle art in MMA.

“I wanted to get to this fight showing everything I'm representing. Returning to the UFC's roots, in the times of Royce gracie, as I believe I am the first female IBJJF (International Jiu-Jitsu Federation) world champion representing jiu-jitsu in MMA. We already had B.J. Penn, Demian Maia, Ronaldo Jacare and several others in men's, but in women's I am one of the first. UFC 1 was in 1993 and now we are in 2021 and we still manage to have this representation, to show the efficiency of jiu-jitsu. Of course, it has changed a lot, most of the athletes are more or less good at everything, you see that they work at everything, but this fight can show the difference between jiu-jitsu and muay thai, not that one is better than the other, but not Apex, for example, that the octagon is smaller, it might favor me a little”, concluded Dern.

Current number four in the strawweight rankings (up to 52,2kg), Mackenzie is in a great phase in his career and has four consecutive victories. The Brazilian fighter hasn't known defeat since October 2019. At the time, Dern was defeated by Amanda ribas in the unanimous decision of the judges. The Brazilian athlete has a history of 11 triumphs and only one setback in professional MMA.