Brazilian submission specialist Mackenzie Dern flattered on being labeled as the next Ronda Rousey and had a lot of hype behind her prior to debuting in the UFC. Former Jiu-Jitsu champion made the jump to MMA back in 2016 and while her unbeaten 6-0 record is perfect, her unrelenting positivity is what has really started to shine through was impressive in her UFC debut, but she needs to address few hurdles if she’s looking for long-term success.
After her successful debut, it was weird that Dern was forced to find a more suitable permanent gym to meet her lifestyle, as the Brazilian revealed she was asked to leave The MMA Lab by head trainer John Crouch because she wasn’t able to commit enough time to training there. Moreover, Dern’s past struggles with weight cuts are well documented. Most recently she misses whopping seven pounds over the strawweight limit (116 pounds) for her fight with Amanda Cooper. After her botched weight cut, UFC wants her to move to the flyweight division. For her next cut, Dern will pursue UFC Performance Institute. (Via MMAMania)
”After I did not hit the weight, the UFC called me,” Dern told Globo’s Combate website (translated from Portuguese). “They said they were thinking of moving me up, they called me to come to the Performance Institute in Las Vegas to see what my body type was like, if it was better continue at strawweight or move up to flyweight. Having this network is so great, seeing them invest time in me and helping me, I had no way of saying no. I’m here getting their help on everything.”
”Everyone here agrees I have a body type that fits at strawweight, in the category that I am, so the plan is to continue in it,” she said. “But we want to diet and train so that I do not have to cut so much weight, I’ll cut very little. After the fight, I will not go up that much. Regardless of what will be decided on the weigh-in, whether or not it will return for the afternoon, it will not change my situation much, because, the way they want me to be the best possible athlete, it will be a very quiet thing.”
At the UFC 224 post-fight press conference Dern openly admitted she’s ashamed of her mistake and it wouldn’t happen in future. She has also added a handful of factors played into the scale fail.
”Fighting twice in a short time period was one of the factors, but there really were a lot of things,” Dern said. “I’m learning here every day, every day I learn something different from my body that I did not even know, things that get in the way of my cut, that I had difficulty due to the way I cut. Now that I’m working with the UFC, I’m going to come back here every four weeks, take the tests to see how my body is reacting. But otherwise my workout will continue normal.”
Dern is interested in being part of UFC 230 card in New York City on November 3rd.
”I wanted to fight in New York; I have no idea of an opponent, incidentally, so you want to make a suggestion?”
Well, it looks like her priority is to cut weight accurately for her next fight then who will be her opponent.
