Fan-favorite strawweight Mackenzie Dern bounced back from consecutive losses to earn a unanimous decision last night in the Dunes of Arabia – and she’s already planning to get one more fight in before the end of the year.
Whilst the headlines this weekend have been decidedly dominated by the likes of Umar Nurmagomedov, Shara Magomedov, and Tony Ferguson, popular strawweight contender Mackenzie Dern also made her mark in the dunes of Abu Dhabi.
Mackenzie Dern earns unanimous decision win at UFC Abu Dhabi
Heading into UFC Abu Dhabi, submission specialist Mackenzie Dern was staring down the barrel of a potential third defeat in a row and risked dropping out of the Top 10 rankings if she couldn’t get past the ever-game ‘Loopy’ Lupita Godinez.
Yet the 31-year-old had a notable calmness to her as she chose to keep the fight standing for the majority of the full 15 minutes, going just 2/5 on her takedowns en route to a unanimous decision win: 29-28 on all three judges’ scorecards.
Despite not being enough to earn a Performance of the Night bonus, with the extra $50,000 going instead to Joel Alvarez and Azamat Murzakanov, the victory did see Dern bounce back into the win column in a big way – so who does she want to fight next?
Mackenzie Dern calls out 10-0 American star for November fight
Speaking to Daniel Cormier in the octagon after the judges’ score totals were announced, a delighted Mackenzie Dern explained that whilst she was happy with her performance, she has more to offer next time she steps back in the cage.
“It feels amazing, everyone wants to come back in the win column. Lupita is a tough fighter so I knew that she was going to be getting better [as the fight went on] so it feels amazing.
“I wish I could have taken her down more – I did a lot of boxing for a Jiu-Jitsu girl… I think I showed [my evolution] but I want to see in my next fight if I can continue it, it’s all about being consistent.”
Whilst Dern didn’t call anyone out in her immediate post-fight interview, it didn’t take long before cameras caught her vying for a fight against 10-0 American star, Tatiana Suarez.
“I want to fight in November, hopefully,” she told Heidi Androl via the ESPN MMA YouTube channel.
“I’m trying to get three in this year but four in 12 months, you know I fought Jessica Andrade last November so I don’t really know too many people who are open, but I would like [to face] Tatiana Suarez.”
“If she doesn’t go for the belt, I think that would be a great matchup, a wrestler [as well] so I would like that fight.”
Tatiana Suarez is 10-0 as a professional with seven of those wins coming in the UFC; one via KO/TKO, four via submission (the same number as Dern) and two via decision.
Many fans and fighters alike expect Suarez to one day, become a UFC champion.
However, we’re yet to see the 33-year-old in action in 2024, after she was forced to withdraw from her UFC 298 clash against Amanda Lemos back in February – Dern would step in as her replacement for that fight, ultimately losing the contest via UD.
Suarez also sits as the #1 ranked strawweight in the world under champion Zhang Weili, with Dern occupying the #7 spot ahead of Tuesday’s rankings update.
Dern reiterated her desire to face the undefeated American in November via UFC News, noting that she’d like to return before the end of 2024 so that the division can keep moving along at its remarkably brisk pace.
“I would like to fight in November… The division’s moving [so quickly] – I think Virna maybe will go for the belt now so we’ll see, maybe Tatiana Suarez – that would be a great matchup, that’s a fight that I would really like.”
A clash between the two is certainly not out of the realm of possibility, especially considering that Dern remains one of the biggest names in the division, and that Virna Jandiroba is likely going to be next in line to challenge for Weili’s strawweight title.
With the win in Abu Dhabi, Mackenzie Dern improves her record to 14-5.