Joe Rogan’s ruthless commentary made UFC 298’s Mackenzie Dern cry: ‘This is so embarrassing’
Joe Rogan made Mackenzie Dern cry.
On Saturday night, February 17, the strawweight fan favorite will return to the Octagon at UFC 298 determined to get back into the win column after delivering a lackluster performance in her last outing against former champion Jessica Andrade.
After putting on the performance of a lifetime against Angela Hill six months prior, Dern looked like a complete novice against Andrade, earning criticism from Rogan who was on hand to offer his expertise.
“She’s flailing (arm punches) and her chin is up in the air. Look at her, that’s crazy,” Joe Rogan said moments before Dern suffered her first stoppage loss. “At this level, to have that lack of awareness in those exchanges is crazy.”
“We saw it coming,” Rogan added following the finish. “It’s like she regressed in her striking from her last performance.”
Rogan wasn’t the only one to pour on the criticism while watching the fight from the commentary table. Daniel Cormier added that “she gets a little lost when the exchanges get a little long and wild” while Din Thomas suggested that they need to “fire whoever told her to get rid of Jason Parillo.”
Watching back her second-round knockout loss to Andrade, Dern was heartbroken to hear Rogan and his commentary compatriots lambasting her performance.
“When I heard the commentary like Joe Rogan, D.C., and stuff, that for me, that was — I felt embarrassed — I felt bad,” Dern said on an appearance on Morning Kombat. “I was like, ‘Dang, how did I just fight Angela Hill in May with like the best performance, and now they’re saying I look like a freakin’ high school girl brawling and stuff like that?’
“For me, they’re the kind of critics that can influence a lot of people with what they say commentating. Man, I can’t believe they said that about me. I looked like that?! Then I started remembering, well, the same way they said good stuff about me they’ve said bad. It goes back and forth. It’s their job, they’re going to commentate no matter what. I still love them and everything like that. So, it wasn’t too bad,” she said.
“Just that first moment I watched the fight I was crying, like this is so embarrassing, oh my gosh” (h/t Bloody Elbow).
Mackenzie Dern sees UFC 298 return as a ‘must-win’ situation
Dern will look to erase the memory of her loss to Andrade when she steps inside the cage with one-time UFC title challenger Amanda Lemos in a short-notice showdown. Lemos is coming off a lopsided decision defeat at the hands of reigning strawweight queen Zhang Weili.
As for Dern, the Brazilian-American beauty has alternated wins and losses in her last five outings, besting Tecia Torres and Angela Hill, but coming up short against Marina Rodriguez, Yan Xiaonan, and the aforementioned Jessica Andrade. Dern goes into her UFC 298 clash with ‘Amandinha’ believing it is a must-win situation.
“On a personal level, (this fight) is a must-win,” Dern said.
