UFC: Mackenzie Dern believes strawweight title shot vs Rose Namajunas or Zhang Weili is just one win away
- Fourth-ranked American faces sixth-ranked Brazilian Marina Rodriguez at UFC Vegas 39
- ‘I have 25 minutes to get her down to the ground once. That is all. Just once and we’ll go for the finish,’ says Dern
MacKenzie Dern is under no illusions about the enormity of what lies ahead. Beat Marina Rodriguez at UFC Vegas 39 on Saturday and a shot at the strawweight title should, by rights, be hers for the taking.
“Yeah, I‘m excited,” the 28-year-old American told the Post. “This is a very important fight. Whoever wins here could fight the eventual winner of Zhang Weili and Rose [Namajunas], so it’s very close. I was looking for that [title shot] coming soon. So it’s always good to have a little bit more time to study yourself as a fighter before that – and now I get to test myself one more time.”
American strawweight champ Namajunas (10-4) is set for a rematch against China’s former champ Zhang (21-2) at UFC 268 in New York on November 6 as attention continues to swirl around the talent-loaded division.
The fourth-ranked Dern (11-1) brings something a little special to the party. Look past previous references to former bantamweight champ Ronda Rousey (12-2) and the reality is there is arguably never before been such a credentialed master of the ground game in the UFC‘s women’s ranks. Dern’s vast collection of titles includes seven worlds as well as gold from European (three), Brazilian (two) and Asian (six) championships.
“When I first came to the UFC they were kind of rushing me a lot in the beginning, like ‘Oh, the next Ronda Rousey’ and all these things, and I‘m just kind of happy I’m building my own story,” says Dern.