Mackenzie Dern Confirms Rose Namajunas Fight Is Her ‘Priority’: ‘A Good Test For Both Of Us’

Dern is 100% sure about who she wants next.

Mackenzie Dern
Mackenzie Dern - Image credit @UFC Youtube
  • Mackenzie Dern is hoping to land a former champion in her next fight and is eyeing a showdown with Rose Namajunas
  • “Thug” previously got beaten in a grappling and has yet to make her UFC return

UFC strawweight contender Mackenzie Dern is hoping to strike the iron while it’s hot. After beating Angela Hill at UFC Vegas 73, the 30-year-old insists she would be pushing for a showdown with former champion Rose Namajunas as her next fight.

The priority

Dern already called out Namajunas during her Octagon interview and doubled down on it in her post-fight press conference. According to Dern, she is eager to add a former champion on her UFC resume and “Thug” has become her “priority” at this point.

Dern, who is now a third-degree jiu-jitsu blackbelt, also revealed that she has been keeping tabs on Namajunas’ jiu-jitsu progress and it certainly makes a fight between them even more interesting.

“Yeah for sure [I want Namajunas next] I mean I follow her on social media too and all this stuff,” Dern told reporters. “I saw her, I think she did like an ADCC regional or something like that a ADCC Regional or something like that. I mean I’m a former ADCC champion, so for me, I’m always happy when I see the MMA girls doing jiu-jitsu and things like that. So, definitely for sure to fight Rose is a priority of mine right now. I think it would be a great fight, a good main event, and a good test for both of us. So, when I see her training her jiu-jitsu, I’m like it’s not gonna be an easy fight, but I think it could be a great fight for the public and for us.”

 

A big break Dern has been waiting for

Needless to say, a fight with Namajunas is certainly what Dern would want to secure if she hopes to join the strawweight title contention mix. Dern’s victory over Hill puts her back to the win column but she is still at the No. 8 spot in the rankings. It will be to the UFC if Dern will be granted a shot at Namajunas, who is still the No. 2 contender in the division.

Namajunas has yet to enter the Octagon once again after losing her belt in the heavily-criticized title fight with Carla Esparza at UFC 274. She previously lost to Gillian Robertson in a grappling match this past December.

Published on May 21, 2023 at 12:32 pm
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