Dana White Thinks Mackenzie Dern Is ‘Bada**’
Jiu-jitsu champion Mackenzie Dern may only have compiled a modest 3-0 MMA record, but she’s already on the UFC’s radar.
Dern, 23, currently fights for Legacy Fighting Alliance, which has been known to be a feeder league for the world’s largest MMA promotion.
UFC President Dana White discussed the submission specialist with TMZ recently, and appears to be keeping an eye on the budding female mixed martial artist.
“We’ve been checking her out. She’s a little bad ass,” UFC president Dana White said about Dern according to TMZ.com.
“You never know how good somebody’s going to be until they get in there and start fighting the best in the world,” White elaborated.
“Obviously, she has a lot of potential, but will she be another Ronda [Rousey]? I don’t know.”
While Dern remains an untested prospect at 115 pounds, the up-and-coming strawweight has certainly caught the attention of the UFC.
The Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu ace most recently defeated Katherine Roy by decision on March 10, just one fight removed from an incredible first round rear-naked choke victory over Montana Stewart in October of 2016.
Dern is the number one ranked female BJJ black belt according to the International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation, and holds a victory in jiu-jitsu competition over Gabrielle Garcia, a massive female MMA fighter who weighs in at 209 pounds and currently fights for RIZIN in Japan. Despite only three MMA fights, her undefeated record and BJJ pedigree were enough to capture the president of the UFC’s attention.
With the UFC’s relatively new strawweight division, White and company are clearly scouting talent to beef up the 115-pound women’s weight class. Could Dern prove to be the Ronda Rousey of the strawweight division?
If what Dana White says about Dern is true, we could find that out sooner than later.
