Mackenzie Dern has detailed the struggles she’s faced as a woman in the UFC.
Dern is scheduled to collide with Marina Rodriguez in a pivotal strawweight bout. Dern is the number four-ranked UFC strawweight. A victory over Rodriguez tomorrow (Oct. 9) at UFC Vegas 39 could earn her a number one contender fight.
Of course, pregnancy is one of the many joys of life but for Mackenzie Dern, it led to a substantial loss in social media followers. Here’s what Dern had to say on MMAFighting’s Trocacao Franca podcast (h/t MMAMania.com).
“I’m still trying to grow [my fanbase] among women, but I think that’s coming naturally as I represent myself as mother, wife, and fighter. But still, I lost 50,000 followers fast when I announced my pregnancy, and 80,000 total until my next fight, but that has definitely changed. The MMA [community] has more men than women so it’s impossible to have more women than men [as followers].”
That doesn’t stop the fact that Dern is on the cusp of realizing her dream. As mentioned, a win over Rodriguez could lead to a number one contender bout or even a title opportunity. The sport of MMA moves fast and injuries happen. Fighters never know when they might be called up at the last minute for a massive opportunity.
Both Dern and Rodriguez made weight for their main event this weekend. Now, all there is to worry about is putting in the work inside the Octagon. Middle Easy will have you covered this weekend for the UFC Vegas 39 card.
